LONDON;

A POE M.

IN IMITATION OF THE

THIRD SATIRE OF JUVENAL.

Written in 1738.

-Quis ineptæ

Tam patiens urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat fe? Juv.

'HO' grief and fondness in my breast rebel,

Then injured THALES bids the town farewell,

Yet ftill my calmer thoughts his choice cominend,
I praise the hermit, but regret the friend,
Refolv'd at length, from vice and LONDON far,
To breathe in diftant fields a purer air,
And, fix'd on Cambria's folitary shore,
Give to St. David one true Briton more.

2 For who would leave, unbrib'd, Hibernia's land, Or change the rocks of Scotland for the Strand?

JUV. SAT. III.

* Quamvis digreffu veteris confufus amici; Laudo, tamen, vacuis quod fedem figere Cumis Deftinet, atque unum civem donare Sibyllæ.

2

Ego vel Prochytam præpono Suburræ,
Nam quid tam miferum, tam folum vidimus, ut non
Deterius credas horrere incendiia, lapfus
Tectorum affiduos, & mille pericula fævæ
Urbis, & Augufto recitantes menfe poetas?

There none are swept by sudden fate away,
But all, whom hunger fpares, with age decay :
Here malice, rapine, accident, confpire,
And now a rabble rages, now a fire;

Their ambush here relentless ruffians lay,
And here the fell attorney prowls for prey;
Here falling houfes thunder on your head,
And here a female Atheist talks you dead.

3 While THALES waits the wherry that contains
Of diffipated wealth the small remains,
On Thames's banks, in filent thought we stood
Where Greenwich fmiles upon the filver flood;
Struck with the feat that gave ELIZA* birth,
We kneel and kifs the confecrated earth;
In pleafing dreams the blissful age renew,
And call Britannia's glories back to view;
Behold her cross triumphant on the main,
The guard of commerce, and the dread of Spain,
Ere masquerades debauch'd, excife opprefs'd,
Or English honour grew a ftanding jeft.

A tranfient calm the happy fcenes bestow,
And for a moment lull the fenfe of woe.
At length awaking, with contemptuous frown,
Indignant THALES eyes the neighb'ring town.

+ Since worth, he cries, in thefe degenerate days Wants ev'n the cheap reward of empty praise;

3 Sed, dum tota domus rhedâ componitur unâ,

Subftitit ad veteres arcus.

4 Hic tunc Umbritius: Quando artibus, inquit, honeftis Nullus in urbe locus, nulla emolumenta laborum,

Res hodie minor eft, heri quam fuit, atque eadem cras
Deteret exiguis aliquid: proponimus illuc

Ire, fatigatas ubi Dædalus exuit alas ;

Dum nova canities

* Queen Elizabeth, born at Greenwich.

In those curs'd walls, devote to vice and gain,
Since unrewarded fcience tolls in vain;
Since hope but fooths to double my ditreis,
And ev'ry moment leaves my little lefs;
While yet my fteady fteps no 3 ftaff furtains,
And life fill vig'rous revels in my veins;
Grant me, kind Heaven, to find some happier place,
Where honefty and fenfe are no digrace;
Some pleafing bank where verdant cfiers play,
Some peaceful vale with Nature's paintings gay;
Where once the harais'd Briton found repole,
And safe in poverty defy'd his foes;

Some fecret cell, ye Pow'rs, indulgent give,

6

Letlive here, for has learn'd to live.
Here let those reign, whom penfions can incite
To vote a patriot black, a courtier white;
Explain their country's dear-bought rights away,
And plead for * pirates in the face of day;
With flavish tenets taint our poifon'd youth,
And lend a lie the confidence of truth.

7 Let fuch raise palaces, and manors buy, Collect a tax, or farm a lottery;

With warbling eunuchs fill our filenc'd flage,
And lull to fervitude a thoughtless age.

:

Et Catullus maneant qui nigrum in candida vertunt.
7 Queis facile eft ædem conducere, flumina, portus,

Siccandam eluviem, portandum ad bufta cadaver.-
Munera nunc edunt.

The invafions of the Spaniards were defended in the houses of parliament.

The licensing act was then lately made.

Heroes, proceed! what bounds your pride fhall hold? What check reftrain your thirst of pow'r and gold? Behold rebellious virtue quite o'erthrown,

Behold our fame, our wealth, our lives, your own.

To fuch, the plunder of a land is giv❜n,

When publick crimes inflame the wrath of Heav'n : * But what, my friend, what hope remains for me, Who start at theft, and blush at perjury?

Who scarce forbear, tho' BRITAIN'S court he fing,
To pluck a titled poet's borrow'd wing;

A statesman's logick unconvinc'd can hear,
And dare to flumber o'er the

Gazetteer;
Despise a fool in half his penfion dress'd,
And strive in vain to laugh at Clodio's jest.
9 Others with fofter fmiles, and fubtler art,
Can fap the principles, or taint the heart;
With more addrefs a lover's note convey,
Or bribe a virgin's innocence away.

Well may they rise, while I, whose rustick tongue
Ne'er knew to puzzle right, or varnish wrong,
Spurn'd as a beggar, dreaded as a spy,
Live unregarded, unlamented die.

10 For what but focial guilt the friend endears? Who fhares Orgilio's crimes, his fortune fhares.

Quid Romæ faciam? mentiri nefcio: librum,

Si malus eft, nequeo laudare & pofcere.

9

Ferre ad nuptas quæ mittit adulter, Quæ mandat norint alii: me nemo miniftro Fur erit, atque idco nulli comes exeo.

10 Quis nunc diligitur nifi confcius ?—

Carus erit Verri, qui Verrem tempore, quo vult,
Accufare poteft.-

* The

court.

paper which at that time contained apologies for the

But