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But I, who think more highly of our kind,
(And furely, Heav'n and I are of a mind)
Opine, that Nature, as in duty bound,
Deep hid the shining mischief under ground :
But when by Man's audacious labour won,
Flam'd forth this rival to, its Sire, the Sun,
Then careful Heav'n supply'd two forts of Men,
To fquander These, and Those to hide agen.

ΙΟ

Like Doctors thus, when much dispute has paft, We find our tenets just the fame at last. Both fairly owning, Riches, in effect,

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No grace of Heav'n or token of th’Elect;

Giv'n to the Fool, the Mad, the Vain, the Evil,
To Ward, to Waters, Chartres, and the Devil. 20

NOTES.

VER. 9. Opine,] A term | Sun,] The rival of its Sire facred to controverfy and in its brightness, and in its high debate.

Ibid. - that Nature, as in duty bound,] This, though ludicrously, is yet exactly, expreffed; to fhew, that, by Nature, the poet meant, not the God of nature, but the inftrument and fubftitute of his providence.

VER. 12. Flam'd forth this rival to, its Sire, the

power of drawing mankind into error and delufion; the two firft idols of the world, natural and moral, being the Sun and Gold.

VER. 20. JOHN WARD Of Hackney, Efq; Member of Parliament, being profecuted by the Duchefs of Buckingham, and convicted of Forgery, was firft expelled

B. What Nature wants, commodious Gold beftows, 'Tis thus we eat the bread another fows.

NOTES.

the House, and then stood in the Pillory on the 17th of March 1727. He was fufpected of joining in a conveyance with Sir John Blunt, to fecrete fifty thoufand pounds of that Director's Eftate, forfeited to the South-Sea company by A&t of Parliament. The Company recovered the fifty thoufand pounds against Ward; but he fet up prior conveyances of his real estate to his brother and fon, and conceal'd all his perfonal, which was computed to be one hundred and fifty thoufand pounds. These conveyances being alfo fet afide by a bill in Chancery, Ward was imprisoned, and hazarded the forfeiture of his life, by not giving in his effects till the laft day, which was that of his examination. During his confinement, his amufement was to give poison to dogs and cats, and fee them expire by flower or quicker tor

ments. To fum up the worth of this gentleman, at the several æra's of his life, At his standing in the Pillory he was worth above twa hundred thousand pounds ; at his commitment to Prison, he was worth one hundred and fifty thousand; but has been fince fo far diminished in his reputation, as to be thought a worse man by fifty or fixty thousand. P.

FR. CHARTRES, a man infamous for all manner of vices. When he was an enfign in the army, he was drumm'd out of the regiment for a cheat; he was next banifh'd Bruffels, and drumm'd out of Ghent on the fame account. After a hundred tricks at the gam ing-tables, he took to lending of money at exorbitant intereft and on great penalties, accumulating premium, intereft, and capital into a new capital, and seizing to a minute when the payments became due; in

P. But how unequal it beftows, observe,

'Tis thus we riot, while, who sow it, ftarve:
What Nature wants (a phrase I much distrust)
Extends to Luxury, extends to Luft:
Useful, I grant, it ferves what life requires,
But dreadful too, the dark Affaffin hires:

NOTES.

a word, by a conftant attention to the vices, wants, and follies of mankind, he acquired an immenfe fortune. His houfe was a perpetual bawdy-houfe. He was twice condemn'd for rapes, and pardoned; but the laft time not without imprisonment in Newgate, and large confifcations. He died in

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Scotland in 1731, aged 62. The populace at his funeral rais'd a great riot, almost tore the body out of the coffin, and caft dead dogs, &c. into the grave along with it. The following Epitaph contains his character, very justly drawn by Dr Arbuthnot:

HERE continueth to rot

The Body of FRANCIS CHARTRES,
Who, with an INFLEXIBLE CONSTANCY,
and INIMITABLE UNIFORMITY of Life,
PERSISTED,

In spite of AGE and INFIRMITIES,
In the Practice of EVERY HUMAN VICE;
Excepting PRODIGALITY and HYPOCRISY:
His infatiable AVARICE exempted him from the firft,
His matchlefs IMPUDENCE from the second.

B. Trade it may help, Society extend.

P. But lures the Pyrate, and corrupts the Friend. 30

NOTES.

Nor was he more fingular

in the undeviating Pravity of his Manners,
Than fuccessful

in Accumulating WEALTH,

For, without TRADE or PROFESSION,
Without TRUST of PUBLIC MONEY,
And without BRIBE-WORTHY Service,
He acquired, or more properly created,
A MINISTERIAL ESTATE.

He was the only Person of his Time,
Who could CHEAT without the Mask of HONESTY,
Retain his Primeval MEANNESS

When poffefs'd of TEN THOUSAND a Year,

And having daily deferved the GIBBET for what he did,
Was at last condemn'd to it for what he could not do.
Oh Indignant Reader!

Think not his Life useless to Mankind
PROVIDENCE COnniv'd at his execrable Defigns,
To give to After-ages

A confpicuous PROOF and EXAMPLE,
Of how fmall Eftimation is EXORBITANT WEALTH
in the Sight of GOD,

By his bestowing it on the moft UNWORTHY OF ALL
MORTALS.

This Gentleman was worth feven thousand pounds a year eftate in Land, and about

one hundred thousand in Money. P.

B. It raises Armies in a Nation's aid.

P. But bribes a Senate, and the Land's betray'd.

In vain may Heroes fight, and Patriots rave;
If fecret Gold fap on from knave to knave.
Once, we confess, beneath the Patriot's cloak, 35
From the crack'd bag the dropping Guinea spoke,

NOTES.

Mr WATERS, the third of these worthies, was a man no way resembling the former in his military, but extremely fo in his civil capacity; his great fortune having been rais'd by the like diligent attendance on the neceffities of others. But this gentleman's hiftory muft be deferred till his death, when his worth may be known more certainly. P.

VER. 20.-Chartres and the Devil.] Alluding to the vulgar opinion, that all mines of metal and fubterraneous treasures are in the guard of the Devil: which feems to have taken its rife from the pagan fable of Plutus the God of Riches.

VER. 33.-and Patriots rave; ] The character of modern Patriots was, in the

opinion of our poet, very equivocal; as the name was undiftinguishingly beftowed on every one in oppofition to the court; of whofe virtues he gives a hint in 139. of this Epiftle. Agreeably to these fentiments, his predicate of them here is as equivocal,

In vain—mayPatriots rave;

which they may do either in earnest or in jeft; and is a conduct, in the opinion of Sempronius in the Play, best fitted to hide their game.

VER. 35. beneath the Patriot's cloak,] This is a true ftory, which happened in the reign of William III. to an unfufpected old Patriot, who coming out at the back-door from having been clofeted by the King,

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