Classic Poem

Dick, thou'rt resolved, as I am told,
Some strange arcana to unfold,
And with the help of Buckley's pen
To vamp the 'good old cause' again:
Which thou (such Burnet's shrewd advice is)
Must furbish up and nickname 'Crisis'.
Thou pompously wilt let us know
What all the world knew long ago,
(E'er since Sir William Gore was mayor,
And Harley filled the Commons' chair)
That we a German prince must own
When Anne for heaven resigns her throne.
But more than that, thou'lt keep a rout
With--who is in--and who is out,
Thou'lt rail devoutly at the peace,
And all its secret causes trace,
The bucket-play 'twixt Whigs and Tories,
Their ups and downs, with fifty stories
Of tricks, the Lord of Oxford knows,
And errors of our plenipo's.
Thou'lt tell of leagues among the great
Portending ruin to our state,
And of that dreadful coup d'eclat,
Which has afforded thee much chat,
The Queen forsooth (despotic!) gave
Twelve coronets, without thy leave!
A breach of liberty, 'tis owned,
For which no heads have yet atoned!
Believe me, what thou'st undertaken
May bring in jeopardy thy bacon;
For madmen, children, wits and fools
Should never meddle with edged tools.
But since thou'rt got into the fire,
And canst not easily retire,
Thou must no longer deal in farce,
Nor pump to cobble wicked verse;
Until thou shalt have eased thy conscience,
Of spleen, of politics and nonsense,
And when thou'st bid adieu to cares,
And settled Europe's grand affairs,
'Twill then, perhaps, be worth thy while
For Drury Lane to shape thy style:
'To make a pair of jolly fellows,
The son and father, join to tell us,
How sons may safely disobey,
And fathers never should say nay,
By which wise conduct they grow friends
At last--and so the story ends.'

When first I knew thee, Dick, thou wert
Renowned for skill in Faustus' art,
Which made thy closet much frequented
By buxom lasses--some repented
Their luckless choice of husbands--others,
Impatient to be like their mothers,
Received from thee profound directions
How best to settle their affections;
Thus thou, a friend to the distressed,
Didst in thy calling do thy best.

But now the senate (if things hit
And thou at Stockbridge wert not bit)
Must feel thy eloquence and fire,
Approve thy schemes, thy wit admire,
Thee with immortal honours crown,
Whilst patriot-like thou'lt strut and frown.

But now the senate (if things hit
And thou at Stockbridge wert not bit)
Must feel thy eloquence and fire,
Approve thy schemes, thy wit admire,
Thee with immortal honours crown,
Whilst patriot-like thou'lt strut and frown.

Methinks I hear thee loud as trumpet,
As bagpipe shrill, or oyster-strumpet,
Methinks I see thee, spruce and fine,
With coat embroidered richly shine,
And dazzle all the idol faces
As through the Hall thy worship paces:
(Though this I speak but at a venture,
Supposing thou hast tick with Hunter)
Methinks I see a blackguard rout
Attend thy coach, and hear them shout
In approbation of thy tongue,
Which (in their style) is 'purely hung'.
Now, now you carry all before ye,
Nor dares one Jacobite or Tory
Pretend to answer one syl-lable,
Except the matchless hero Abel.
What though her Highness and her spouse
In Antwerp keep a frugal house,
Yet not forgetful of a friend,
They'll soon enable thee to spend,
If to Macartney thou wilt toast,
And to his pious patron's ghost.
Now manfully thou'lt run a tilt
'On popes, for all the blood they've spilt,
For massacres, and racks, and flames,
For lands enriched by crimson streams,
For inquisitions taught by Spain,
Of which the Christian world complain.'

Dick, we agree--all's true, thou'st said,
As that my muse is yet a maid.
But, if I may with freedom talk,
All this is foreign to thy walk:
Thy genius has perhaps a knack
At trudging in a beaten track,
But is for state affairs as fit,
As mine for politics and wit.
Then let us both in time grow wise,
Nor higher than our talents rise;
To some snug cellar let's repair
From duns and debts, and drown our care;
Now quaff of honest ale a quart,
Now venture at a pint of port,
With which inspired we'll club each night
Some tender sonnet to indite,
And with Tom D'Urfey, Philips, Dennis,
Immortalize our Dolls and Jennies.