a 
216 
poetry. Dec. 12s, 
At last the courtier, mellow grown and free, 
Extols this unexpected luxury. 
Alas! (cries he,) how hard’s your present fate 4 
Small is your fortune, but your soul is great: 
Sure this. munificent, aspiring mind, 
Was ne’er for cliffs, and poverty design’d. 
“Why fhould a man of such transcendent worth, 
Return unhear’d of to his native earth +~ 
Let goats frequent the brake and sivage den, 
You fhall see courts, know kings, conve‘se with men: 
Disdain old rusty hats, and thread bare gown, 
And learn the nicenefs of th’ engag ng town. 
First preach at court, then afk some pretty see, 
A living, chaplainfhip, or deanery : 
Act against conscience, not afraid to lie, 
And cry up Walpole’s virtues to the fky, 
Then rail at St John, Pulteney, and the rest, 
And always swear the present times are best. 
Since life’s sti] fleeting, and no man hath pow’r 
‘To hasten or retard the destin’d hour 5 
Since great and smail must render up their breath, 
Nor Cambria’s rocks can stand a siege with death, 
Haste, haste with me, and thankfully receive, 
All the kind gods, and kinder ‘king can give. 
But oh! what vicar with Socratic arms, 
Cou’d eer withsrand preferment’s easy charms ? 
His thoughts are center’d in some high degree, 
His defk’s athrone, his vicarage a see. 
With these delusions fir’d, he hates delay, 
And eagerly pursues the joyful way. 
Both bear th’ inclemencies ot wind and wet, 
And reach St James's as the sun was sct, 
His tordthip’s house appears, the mastiffs roar, 
Th’ obsequious porter cringes at the door, 
Up stairs they go, the courtierleads the way, 
Unusual objects claim the vicar’s stay. 
He views the product of the curious loom, 
And eyes both Indies in one splendid room, 
Within the lobby of a dome of state, 
Both with due patience for their supper wait 5 
At length repeated dainties grace the board, 
‘Th’ untasted offals of the piddling lord : 
Ragouts, and ortolans, and costly fith, 
Conceal diseases in the fhining dh. 
Our servile courtier acts the well known part, 
And helps the stranger with the nicest art 5 
Picks out the morsel that is choice and rare, 
And cloys his stomach with luxuriant fare, 
The exalted vicar owns his happy station, 
Nor silently enjoys his new translation : 
