We add the verses that he composed on this occasion.
THE JUDGMENT OF THE POETS.
Two nymphs,[588] both nearly of an age,
Of numerous charms possess'd,
A warm dispute once chanc'd to wage,
Whose temper was the best.
The worth of each had been complete,
Had both alike been mild;
But one, although her smile was sweet,
Frown'd oft'ner than she smil'd.
And in her humour, when she frown'd,
Would raise her voice and roar;
And shake with fury to the ground,
The garland that she wore.
The other was of gentler cast,
From all such frenzy clear;
Her frowns were never known to last,
And never prov'd severe.
To poets of renown in song,
The nymphs referr'd the cause,
Who, strange to tell! all judg'd it wrong
And gave misplac'd applause.
They gentle call'd, and kind, and soft,
The flippant and the scold;
And, though she chang'd her mood so oft,
That failing left untold.
No judges sure were e'er so mad,
Or so resolv'd to err;
In short, the charms her sister had,
They lavish'd all on her.
Then thus the god, whom fondly they
Their great inspirer call,
Was heard one genial summer's day,
To reprimand them all: