While thus each hand promotes the pleafing pain,
And quick fenfations skip from vein to vein;
A youth unknown to Phoebus, in despair,
Puts his laft refuge all in heaven and prayer.

What force have pious vows! The Queen of Love 215
Her fifter fends, her votarefs, from above,

As, taught by Venus, Paris learnt the art
To touch Achilles' only tender part;
Secure, through her, the noble prize to carry,
He marches off, his Grace's Secretary.

Now turn to different sports (the Goddess cries)
And learn, my fons, the wondrous power of Noife.
To move, to raise, to ravifh every heart,

With Shakespeare's nature, or with Jonfon's art,
Let others aim: 'Tis yours to fhake the foul
With thunder rumbling from the mustard-bowl,
With horns and trumpets now to madness swell,
Now fink in forrows with a tolling bell!

220

225

Such happy arts attention can command,
When fancy flags, and fenfe is at a stand.

230

Improve we thefe. Three Cat-calls be the bribe
Of him, whofe chattering fhames the Monkey tribe:

REMARKS.

And

Ver. 226. With Thunder rumbling from the mustard bowl,] The old way of making Thunder and Mustard were the fame; but fince, it is more advantageously performed by troughs of wood with stops in them. Whether Mr. Dennis was the inventor of that improvement, I know not; but it is certain, that being once at a Tragedy of a new author, he fell into a great paffion at hearing fome, and cried, "'Sdeath! that is my Thunder.”

And his this Drum, whofe hoarfe heroic bafs

Drowns the loud clarion of the braying Ass.

Now thousand tongues are heard in one loud din: The Monkey-mimics rufh difcordant in ; 'Twas chattering, grinning, mouthing, jabbering all, And Noife and Norton, Brangling and Breval, Dennis and Diffonance, and captious Art, And Snip-fnap short, and Interruption smart, And Demonftration thin, and Theses thick, And Major, Minor, and Conclufion quick. Hold (cry'd the Queen): A Cat-call each fhall win; Equal your merits! equal is your din!

240

But that this well-difputed game may end,

245

Sound forth, my Brayers, and the welkin rend.

As when the long-ear'd milky mothers wait
At fome fick mifer's triple-bolted gate,
For their defrauded, absent foals they make
A moan fo loud, that all the Guild awake;
Sore fighs Sir Gilbert, starting at the bray,
From dreams of millions, and three groats to pay :
So fwells each wind-pipe: Afs intones to Ass,
Harmonic twang! of leather, horn, and brass;

250

Such as from labouring lungs th' Enthusiast blows, 255 High founds, attemper'd to the vocal nose;

VARIATION.

Ver. 241, 242. added fince the first Edition.

REMARKS.

Or

Ver. 238. Norton,] See ver. 417.-J. Durant Breval, Author of a very extraordinary Book of Travels, and fome Poems. See before, Note on ver. 126.

Or fuch as bellow from the deep Divine;

260

There, Webster! peal'd thy voice, and Whitefield! thine,
But far o'er all fonorous Blackmore's strain;
Walls, fteeples, fkies, bray back to him again.
In Tottenham fields, the Brethren, with amaze,
Prick all their ears up, and forget to graze!
Long Chancery-lane retentive rolls the found,
And courts to courts return it round and round;
Thames wafts it thence to Rufus' roaring hall,
And Hungerford re-echoes bawl for bawl,
All hail him victor in both gifts of song,
Who fings fo loudly, and who fings fo long.

VARIATION.

Ver. 257, 258. This couplet is an addition.

REMARKS.

265

This

Ver. 258. Webster-and Whitefield] The one the writer of a News-paper called the Weekly Mifcellany, the other a Field-preacher. This thought the only means of advancing Religion was by the New-birth of fpiritual madness: That by the old death of fire and faggot: And therefore they agreed in this, though in no other earthly thing, to abufe all the fober Clergy. From the fmall fuccefs of these two extraordinary perfons, we may learn how little hurtful Bigotry and Enthufiafm are, while the Civil Magiftrate prudently forbears to lend his power to the one, in order to the employing it against the other.

Ver. 263. Long Chancery-lane] The place where the offices of Chancery are kept. The long detention of Clients in that Court, and the difficulty of getting out, is humorously allegorized in thefe lines.

This labour past, by Bridewell all descend, (As morning-prayers, and flagellation end)

270

Το

REMARKS.

Ver. 268. Who fings fo loudly, and who fings fo long.] A juft character of Sir Richard Blackmore, knight, who (as Mr. Dryden expreffeth it)

"Writ to the rumbling of his coach's wheels." and whofe indefatigable Mufe produced no less than fix Epic poems: Prince and King Arthur, twenty books; Eliza ten; Alfred twelve; the Redeemer, fix; befides Job, in folio; the whole Book of Pfalms; the Creation, feven books; Nature of Man, three books; and many more. It is in this fenfe he is ftyled afterwards the everlafting Blackmore. Notwithstanding all which, Mr. Gildon feems affured, "that this admirable author “did not think himself upon the fame foot with Ho"mer." Comp. Art of Poetry, vol. i. p. 108.

But how different is the judgment of the author of Characters of the times? p. 25. who fays, "Sir Ri"chard Blackmore is unfortunate in happening to mif"take his proper talents; and that he has not for many "years been fo much as named, or even thought of "among writers." Even Mr. Dennis differs greatly from his friend Mr. Gildon: "Blackmore's Action "(faith he) has neither unity, nor integrity, nor mora

lity, nor univerfality; and confequently he can have "no Fable, and no Heroic Poem: His Narration is "neither probable, delightful, nor wonderful; his cha"racters have none of the neceffary qualifications; the "things contained in his narration are neither in their "own nature delightful, nor numerous enough, nor "rightly difpofed, nor furprizing, nor pathetic."-Nay he proceeds fo far as to fay Sir Richard has no Genius; firft laying down, that "Genius is caused by a furious "joy and pride and foul, on the conception of an extra"ordinary

L4

To where Fleet-ditch with difemboguing streams
Rolls the large tribute of dead dogs to Thames,

REMARKS.

The

"ordinary Hint. Many men (fays he) have their Hints, "without thofe motions of fury and pride of foul, be"caufe they want fire enough to agitate their fpirits; "and thefe we call cold writers. Others who have a <6 great deal of fire, but have not excellent organs, feel "the fore-mentioned motions, without the extraor"dinary hints; and thefe we call fuftian writers. But "he declares that Sir Richard had neither the Hints nor "the Motions." Remarks on Pr. Arth. octavo, 1696. Preface.

"It was

This gentleman in his firft works abufed the character of Mr. Dryden; and in his laft, of Mr. Pope, accufing him in very high and fober terms of profanenefs and immorality (Effay on Polite Writing, vol. ii. p. 270.) on a mere report from Edm. Curll, that he was author of a Traveftie on the first Pfalm. Mr. Dennis took up the fame report, but with the addition of what Sir Richard had neglected, an Argument to prove it; which being very curious, we fhall here transcribe. "he who burlefqued the Pfalms of David. It is ap parent to me that Pfalm was burlefqued by a Popish "rhymester. Let rhyming perfons who have been "brought up Proteftants be otherwife what they will, "let them be rakes, let them be fcoundrels, let them "be Atheists, yet education has made an invincible im"preflion on them in behalf of the facred writings. "But a Popish rhymefter has been brought up with a contempt for those facred writings; now fhew me "another Popish rhymefter but he." This manner of argumentation is ufual with Mr. Dennis; he has employed the fame against Sir Richard himself, in a like charge of Impiety and Irreligion. "All Mr. Blackmore's "celeftial Machines, as they cannot be defended fo

"much