Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 47]
And whilst they were stating and solving their doubts,
As to who'll be the IN'S, and who must be the OUT'S,
The veteran Orator was not forgot-
That is---whether BURKE be re-chosen or not?
Then JOSEPH rose, and thus a speech began:-
"We've had sufficient of this prating man;
"The justly hated name of EDMUND draws
"A gen'ral odium on the fairest cause.
"The Nation once, by pompous sounds misled,
"Implicitly believ'd whate'er he said,
"And thought his heart much better than his head.
"But now the WORLD his head and heart attack,
"And say the one is weak--the other black;
"With all his actions men are now acquainted,
"His private character is also tainted,
"St. Omar's Jesuit is at length unsainted:
"His friend, the MARQUIS, long before he dy'ed,
"Repentant, cut the knot, his blindness ty'd:
"LORD V------Y too, found reason to regret
"That patience which illegalizes DEBT;
"His pious zeal against a great NABOB,
"Is now consider'd as a pilf'ring JOB;
"A dish of gravy-meat of EDMUND'S carving,
"To feast himself, and keep poor DICK from starving:
"His foolish triumph, shamefully exprest,
"Resentment kindled in each loyal breast;
"The cause, the sole detested cause, was he,
"That we were lately burnt in effigy:
"In detestation, we have long been held,
"And must remain, 'till EDMUND is expell'd.
"The sicken'd Senators, when EDMUND prates,
"Some stay to hiss, while others quit their seats.
"From him a stream of pompous nonsense flows,
"And serves the cause he labours to oppose:
"His numerous blunders in a recent case,
"Have fix'd on us indelible disgrace:
"A motion now I make, (let none resist)
"To blot his name from the dishonour'd list."
He ceas'd --- and MONTAGUE arose to speak:-
"I grant his heart is black, his head is weak;
"But still I think reason might be giv'n,
"Why from the Party BURKE should not be driv'n.
"He is, you must allow, an useful Butt,
"For Wits to fire upon, to slash and cut:
"A scape-goat he, the Party's sins to bear,
"Of which friend JOE commits an ample share.
"Should BURKE a patriotic life forego,
"The shaft of Ridicule might fall on JOE;
" 'Tis hard to say, should men their conduct scan,
"If BURKE or SURFACE be the fairest man."
Here ended MONTAGUE-- and COURTNEY rose,
With ever-welcome wit, to interpose:
"The Chief who spoke first, and the Chief that did follow,
"Are ORACLES equal to those of APOLLO;
"With SURFACE, indeed, I am free to admit,
"That EDMUND is worth twenty Members to PITT;
"That the name of St. EDMUND'S sufficient to tarnish
"All the colours of FOX, and all SURFACE'S varnish:
"Notwithstanding all this, I'm unwilling to scout him,
"Because we may probably fare worse without him;
" 'Tis prudent to sacrifice wrinkle-born'd Rams,
"To save from the Altar sweet innocent Lambs.
"Should BURKE be discarded, as MONTAGUE noted,
"Some victim or other must soon be devoted;
"The well-meaning CHARLES, or the innocent JOE,
"Must feel the sharp lash of some libellous foe;
"The writer of news must have food for his pen,
"To raise entertainment for scandalous men:
"The follies of BURKE are many and glaring,
"His actions so wild, and his Speeches so daring,
"As to yield constant matter for wonder and staring."
Here CHARLEY, whose words are more weighty than lead,
Observ'd, on both sides a great deal might be said;
That he had not as yet fully made up his mind,
If to help him along, or to leave him behind.
Here this Letter ends, but whenever these men
Shall agree on this point, I will write you again;
In the mean time, I fear, if BURKE is not re-chosen,
My Pen will be pointless, my Ink will be frozen.
SIMKIN.
World Nov. 18. 1789
We are much obliged to the Publisher of a celebrated OPPOSITION PRINT, for the following excellent POEM.- We had not room for the ODE of "THE HISTORIC MUSE," but it shall be inserted to-morrow.
SIMKIN in LONDON, to his BROTHER SIMON in WALES.
You remember, Dear SIMON, my formerly stating,
That BURKE was displeas'd with my style of narrating.
Alas! now I find, I'm for ever rejected,
As a new Poet Laureat, is lately elected:
This intelligence cruel, I draw from a hint,
Convey'd thro' a late publish'd, ludicrous Print.
But lest this should be thought not explicit enough,
I must tell you, the Party that wears Blue and Buff,
Have subscrib'd for an Artist, a liberal Fee,
(Tho' they never once thought of subscribing for me)
Who, with great Ingenuity, Labour and Pain,
Has pourtray'd the design of some Partizan's Brain;
'Tis inscrib'd, by consent, to a *DUTCHESS DIVINE,
The Pride, and the Hope, of the CAVENDISH line.
First, LIBERTY'S GODDESS, assuming the Face,
The Person, the Air, and the Shape of Her GRACE,
Holds out her Fore-finger, intending to show
Her Apostles-BURKE, FOX, PHILIP, FRANCIS, and JOE.
With her Cap and her Staff, she seems ready to holloa,
Lo! these are the lads, which the DUTCHESSES follow.
BURKE, dress'd like the great Roman Orator, GRACCHUS,
Wants only a mob at command, to attack us;
And the visage of CHARLES, full of spirit and fire,
Seems as if he would lay Ten to One on HIGH-FLYER;
And the modern dress'd JOSEPH, with Rouge in his face,
Looks as if he could collar a Justice of Peace;
Whilst these heads all seem in an attitude speaking,
PHILIP, drawn at full length, appears creeping and sneaking.
Mean time see the GODDESS, her left-hand direct
To a beautiful figure-RECORDER ELECT!
Whose likeness expressive, decidedly shews
Her Sister, renown'd, is "th' Historical Muse."
The Lady, I've heard, is preparing a Work,
The ACTS of the PATRIOTS---FOX, JOSEPH and BURKE
As a proof of her skill, an enclosure I send,
'Tis a Copy I luckily got from a friend,
Of a sweet pretty ODE, which her Ladyship penn'd †.
This model of eloquence, style and expression,
Was presented the Day of KING CHARLES'S ACCESSION;
I mean on that great ANNIVERSARY DAY,
When the WESTMINSTER MOB, first acknowledg'd his sway;
And that this blessed day, may be never forgot,
'Twill hereafter be kept like the Gun-Powder Plot.
Next year we expect all the Bells in the Steeple
Will ring the whole day, for this Man of the People;
And if I were KING GEORGE, while the Hero is living,
I would make it an Annual Day of Thanksgiving.
And the Almanack Makers, in future, 'tis said,
Will distinguish the Tenth of October with Red.
Should JOSEPH, Dear Brother, his promise fulfil,
(Tho' on casting the Odds, I much doubt if he will)
I'll give you the cream, when he lets me puruse
The Acts of the Patriots, by Liberty's Muse.
To return to the Print--- where the Goddess of Freedom
Deals her Oracles out, to such people as need 'em,
'Tis delightful to see this DIVINITY trample
On chains, setting subjects an useful example;
And she who has forc'd such a number to wear 'em,
With ease can instruct her own Captives to tear 'em.
Her Vot'ries, however, would gladly pull down
The Ensigns of Government, Sceptre, and Crown.
*If Simkin is in error--- the Artist, Mr. POLLARD, must be responsible.- The words are, "TO HER GRACE the DUTCHESS of DEVONSHIRE, this Print of INDIA
"VINDICATED, is, by HER PERMISSION, most HUMBLY DEDICATED."
† The Ode which came here, we are obliged to defer till to-morrow.