Classic Poem

" Superior virtue, and superior sense,
To knaves and fools will always give offence: "
So C HURCHILL sung; whose bold satiric pen
Fearless prob'd deep the hearts of vicious men.

Chear'd by this truth, thy taste directed mind
Will soar superior to each soul confin'd;
All vulgar clamour smilingly defy,
As rocks th' impotent waves that round them fly.

Accept, my Lord, this lowly verse from him
Whom party moves not, or capricious whim;
Who, firm to truth, to taste and judgment true,
In justice to himself must honour you.

As o'er this sacred fane I daily rove,
It fires my admiration, wins my love;
" Sublime and beautiful, " it charms the view,
And still delights the eye with graces new.

Long has it stood the glory and the boast
Of gothic art and Britain's sea-girt coast;
And long shall stand the admiring world's acclaim,
And hand to future times a Shute and W YATT'S fame.

If to restore its pristine form so fair,
And bring its every beauty out with care;
If it is taste and wisdom to correct
With grace and skill each subsequent defect;

With nice and rigid science to restore
Its own great native grandeur, and no more;
If this, our approbation ought to claim,
'Tis your's, my Lord, and time will prove the same.