K.
Passage in Oldham.—The following lines, on the virtues of "impudence," occur in that exquisite satirist, Oldham, described by Dryden as "too little and too lately known:"
"Get that great gift and talent, impudence,
Accomplish'd mankind's highest excellence:
'Tis that alone prefers, alone makes great,
Confers alone wealth, titles, and estate;
Gains place at court, can make a fool a peer;
An ass a bishop; can vil'st blockhead rear
To wear red hats, and sit in porph'ry chair:
'Tis learning, parts, and skill, and wit, and sense,