And all who since, in mild benighted days, 61 Roll all their tides, then back their circles bring; 'Ascend this hill, whose cloudy point commands Her boundless empire over seas and lands. See, round the poles where keener spangles shine, Where spices smoke beneath the burning line, (Earth's wide extremes) her sable flag display'd, And all the nations cover'd in her shade! 'Far eastward cast thine eye, from whence the sun And orient science their bright course begun : IMITATIONS. 54 Mix'd the owl's ivy with the poet's bays.] Sine tempora circum Inter victrices ederam tibi serpere lauros.' VIRG. Ecl. VIII. 61, 62 For this our Queen unfolds to vision true Thy mental eye, for thou hast much to view.] This has a resemblance to that passage in Milton, Book XI. where the angel 'To noble sights from Adam's eye remov'd The film; then purg'd with euphrasie and rue The visual nerve-For he had much to see.' There is a general allusion in what follows to that whole episode. One godlike monarch all that pride confounds, 'How little, mark! that portion of the ball, Till Peter's keys some christen'd Jove adorn, And Pan to Moses lends his Pagan horn: See graceless Venus to a virgin turn'd, Or Phidias broken, and Apelles burn'd! 'Behold you isle, by palmers, pilgrims trod, Men bearded, bald, cowl'd, uncowl'd, shod, unshod, [thers, Peel'd, patch'd, and piebald, linsey-woolsey broGrave mummers! sleeveless some, and shirtless others. That once was Britain-Happy! had she seen 117 Now look through fate! behold the scene she draws! 127 What aids, what armies, to assert her cause! See all her progeny, illustrious sight! IMITATIONS. 117, 118 Happy!-had Easter never been.] ⚫ Et fortunatam, si nunquam armenta fuissent.* 127, 129 Now look through fate!® See all her progeny, &c.] VIRG. Ecl. VI. Nunc age, Dardaniam prolem quæ deinde sequatur Illustres animas, nostrumque in nomen ituras, VIRG. En. VI. As Berecynthia, while her offspring vie 131 And her Parnassus glancing o'er at once, Behold an hundred sons, and each a dunce. 'Mark first that youth who takes the foremost place, 139 And thrusts his person full into your face, 'A second see, by meeker manners known, IMITATIONS. 131 As Berecynthia, &c.] · 145 'Felix prole virum: qualis Berecynthia mater 139 Mark first that youth, &c.] 'Ille vides, pura juvenis qui nititur hasta, VIRG. En. VI. 141 With all thy father's virtues bless'd, be born!] A manner of expression used by Virgil, Ecl. VIII. Nascere, præque diem veniens age, Lucifer.'As also that of patriis virtutibus, Ecl. IV. 145 From the strong fate of drams if thou get free.] si qua fata aspera rumpas, Tu Marcellus eris! VIRG. Ænt VI. Thee shall each alehouse, thee each gillhouse 147 mourn, And answering ginshops sourer sighs return. Jacob, the scourge of grammar, mark with Nor less revere him, blunderbuss of law. 150 · REMARKS. 149 Jacob. This gentleman is a son of a considerable malster of Romsey, iu Hampshire, 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 lawbooks, Accomplished Conveyancer, Modern Justice, &c.' Giles Jacob of himself, Lives of Poets, vol. i. He very grossly, and unprovoked, abused in that book the author's friend, Mr. Gay. W. 152 Horneck-Roome.] These two were virulent partywriters, 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 em ployment. 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 FleetStreet, and writ some of the papers called Pasquin, where, by malicious inuendoes, he endeavoured to represent our anthor guilty of malevolent practices with a great man then under prosecution of parliament. Of this man was maile the following epigram: IMITATIONS. 147 Thee shall each alehouse, &c.] Te nemus Angnitiæ, vitrea te Fucinus unda, Te liquidi flevere lacus.' Virgil again, Ecl. X. VIRG. Æn. VII. etiam lanri, etiam flevere myricæ,' &c. 150 duo fulmina belli *Scipiadas, cladem Libya!' VIRG. Æn. VI. |