That once was Britain-Happy! had she seen reign, 121 125 Dove-like, she gathers to her wings again." Now look through Fate! behold the scene she draws! 4 What aids, what armies to assert her cause ! 131 1 Wars in England, anciently, about the right time of celebrating Easter.-P. "Et fortunatam, si nunquam armenta fuissent." Virg. Ecl. vi.-P. 2 This is fulfilled in the fourth book.-P. 3 "Nunc age, Dardaniam prolem quæ deinde sequatur Gloria, qui maneant Itala de gente nepotes, 4 i.e. of Poets, Antiquaries, Critics, Divines, Freethinkers. But as this Revolution is only here set on foot by the first of these classes, the Poets, they only are here particularly celebrated, and they only properly fall under the care and review of this Colleague of Dulness, the Laureate. The others, who finish the great work, are reserved for the fourth book, where the Goddess herself appears in full glory.-Warburton. 1 An hundred sons, and every son a God: 1 And her Parnassus glancing o'er at once, And thrusts his person full into your face. 140 With all thy Father's virtues blessed, be born !3 And a new Cibber shall the stage adorn. "A second see, by meeker manners known, And modest as the maid that sips alone; From the strong fate of drams if thou get free,1 Another Durfey, Ward! shall sing in thee. 1 "Felix prole virûm, qualis Berecynthia mater Invehitur curru Phrygias turrita per urbes, Læta deûm partu, centum complexa nepotes, Omnes cœlicolas, omnes supera alta tenentes." Virg. En. vi.—P. 2 "Ille vides, pura juvenis qui nititur hasta, Virg. Æn. vi.-P. 145 3 A manner of expression used by Virgil, Ecl. viii. 66 Nascere! præque diem veniens, age, Lucifer" As also that of patriis virtutibus, Ecl. iv. It was very natural to show to the Hero, before all others, his own Son, who had already begun to emulate him in his theatrical, poetical, and even political capacities. By the attitude in which he here presents himself, the reader may be cautioned against ascribing wholly to the Father the merit of the epithet Cibberian, which is equally to be understood with an eye to the Son.-P. W. See Book i. 31. 4 66 -si qua fata aspera rumpas, Thee shall each ale-house, thee each gill-house And answering gin-shops sourer sighs return. "Jacob, the scourge of Grammar, mark with awe,2 Nor less revere him, blunderbuss of Law.3 4 150 Lo P-p-le's brow, tremendous to the town, Horneck's fierce eye, and Roome's funereal frown." 1 "Te nemus Angitiæ, vitrea te Fucinus unda, Virgil again, Ecl. x.: "Illum etiam lauri, illum flevere myricæ," &c.-P. 2 This Gentleman is son of a considerable Maltster of Romsey, in Southamptonshire, and bred to the Law under a very eminent Attorney: Who, between his more laborious studies, has diverted himself with Poetry. He is a great admirer of Poets and their works, which has occasioned him to try his genius that way. He has writ in prose the Lives of the Poets, Essays, and a great many Law-books, The Accomplish'd Conveyancer, Modern Justice, &c."Giles Jacob of himself, Lives of Poets, vol. i. very grossly, and unprovoked, abused in that book the author's friend, Mr. Gay.-P. He Scipiadas, cladem Libya !"-Virg. Æn. vi.-P. 4 P-le [Popple] was the author of some vile plays and pamphlets. He published abuses on our author in a paper called The Prompter.-P. 5 These two were virulent Party-writers, worthily coupled together, and one would think prophetically, since after the publishing of this piece, the former dying, the latter succeeded him in Honour and Employment. The first was Philip Horneck, Author of a Billingsgate paper called The High German Doctor. Edward Roome was son of an Undertaker for Funerals in Fleet-street, and writ some of the papers called Pasquin, where, by malicious Inuendoes, he endeavoured to represent our Author guilty of malevolent Lo sneering Goode,' half malice and half whim, A fiend in glee, ridiculously grim. Each Cygnet sweet, of Bath and Tunbridge race, 155 Whose tuneful whistling makes the waters pass: 2 Each Songster, Riddler, every nameless name, All crowd, who foremost shall be damned to Fame. Some strain in rhyme; the Muses, on their racks, Scream like the winding of ten thousand jacks; 160 Some free from rhyme or reason, rule or check, Break Priscian's head, and Pegasus's neck; 3 practices with a great man then under prosecution of Parliament. Of this man was made the following epigram: "You ask why Roome diverts you with his jokes, "-P. 1 An ill-natured Critic, who writ a satire on our Author, called The mock Esop, and many anonymous Libels in Newspapers for hire.-P. 2 There were several successions of these sort of minor poets at Tunbridge, Bath, &c., singing the praise of the Annuals flourishing for that season; whose names, indeed, would be nameless, and therefore the poet slurs them over with others in general. -P. W. Borrowed from Young's Universal Passion, Sat. i. 277: "Is there a man of an eternal vein, Who lulls the town in winter with his strain, 3 The Roman Grammarian; he flourished in the 6th century A.D. Down, down they larum, with impetuous whirl, The Pindars and the Miltons of a Curl. 'Silence, ye Wolves! while Ralph to Cynthia howls,1 165 And makes night hideous 2-Answer him, ye Owls! "Sense, speech, and measure, living tongues and dead, Let all give way, and Morris may be read.3 Flow, Welsted, flow! like thine inspirer, Beer, 1 James Ralph, a name inserted after the first editions, not known to our author till he writ a swearing-piece called Sawney, very abusive of Dr. Swift, Mr. Gay, and himself. These lines allude to a thing of his, entitled Night, a Poem: This low writer attended his own works with panegyrics in the Journals, and once in particular praised himself highly above Mr. Addison, in wretched remarks upon that Author's Account of English Poets, printed in a London Journal, September, 1728.-P. He He was wholly illiterate, and knew no language, not even French. Being advised to read the rules of dramatic poetry before he began a play, he smiled and replied, "Shakespear writ without rules." ended at last in the common sink of all such writers, a political Newspaper, to which he was recommended by his friend Arnal, and received a small pittance for pay.-Warburton. Visit thus the glimpses of the moon, Of this author see the Remark on Book ii. v. 209. But (to be impartial) add to it the following different character of him: Mr. Welsted had, in his youth, raised so great expectations of his future genius, that there was a kind of struggle between the most eminent in the two Universities which should have the honour of his education. To compound this, he (civilly) became a member of both, and after having passed some time at the one, he removed to the other. From thence |