Joy fills his soul, joy innocent of thought;

What power, (he cries) what power these wonders

wrought?"

256

Son, what thou seek'st is in thee! look and find 251
Each monster meets his likeness in thy mind.
Yet would'st thou more? in yonder cloud behold,
Whose sarsenet skirts are edg'd with flamy gold,
A matchless youth! his nod these worlds controls,
Wings the red lightning, and the thunder rolls;
Angel of Dulness, sent to scatter round
Her magic charms o'er all unclassic ground: 258
Yon stars, yon suns, he rears at pleasure higher,
Illumes their light, and sets their flames on fire.
Immortal Rich! how calm he sits at ease,
Midst snows of paper, and fierce hail of pease!
And proud his mistress' orders to perform,
Rides in the whirlwind, and directs the storm.

REMARKS.

261

261 Immortal Rich Mr. John Rick, master of the Theatre-Royal in Covent Garden, was the first that excelled this way.

W.

25 Wings the red lightning, &c.] Like Salmoneus in

Eu. VI.

• Dum flammas Jovis, et sonitus imitatur Olympi. -nimbos, et non imitabile fulmen,

Ære et cornipedum pulsu simularat equorum.'

258 -o'er all unclassic ground.] Alludes to Mr. Addison's verse in the praises of Italy:

• Poetic fields encompass me around,

And still I seem to tread on classic ground.'

As ver. 26 is a parody on a noble one of the same author in the Campaign: and ver. 259, 260, on two sublime verses of Dr. Y.

W.

'But, lo! to dark encounter in mid air New wizards rise; I see my Cibber there! 266 Booth in his cloudy tabernacle shrin'd,

On grinning dragons thou shalt mount the wind,
Dire is the conflict, dismal is the din,

Here shouts all Drury, there all Lincoln's-inn ;
Contending theatres our empire raise,

Alike their labours, and alike their praise.

'And are these wonders, sou, to thee unknown?
Unknown to thee! these wonders are thy own.
These fate reserv'd to grace thy reign divine,
Foreseen by me, but, ah! withheld from mine.
In Lud's old walls though long I rul'd renown'd
Far as loud Bow's stupendous bells resound;
Though my own aldermen conferr'd the bays,
To me committing their eternal praise,
Their full-fed heroes, their pacific may'rs,
Their annual trophies, and their monthly wars;
Though long my party built on me their hopes,
For writing pamphlets, and for roasting Popes;
Yet lo! in me what authors have to brag on!
Reduc'd at last to hiss in my own dragon.
Avert it Heaven! that thou, my Cibber, e'er
Shouldst wag a serpent-tail in Smithfield fair!
Like the vile straw that's blown about the streets,
The needy poet sticks to all he meets,

Coach'd, carted, trod upon, now loose, now fast,
And carried off in some dog's tail at last.
Happier thy fortunes! like a rolling stone,
Thy giddy dulness still shall lumber on,

REMARKS.

266, 267 Booth and Cibber were joint managers of the Theatre in Drury-Lane.

Safe in its heaviness, shall never stray,
But lick up every blockhead in the way.
Thee shall the patriot, thee the courtier taste,
And every year be duller than the last:
Till rais'd from booths, to theatre, to court,
Her seat imperial Dulness shall transport.
Already opera prepares the way,

The sure forunner of her gentle sway:
Let her thy heart, next drabs and dice, engage,
The third mad passion of thy doting age.
Teach thou the warbling Polypheme to roar,
And scream thyself as none e'er scream'd before!!
To aid our cause, if Heaven thou canst not bend,
Hell thou shalt move; for Faustus is our friend:
Pluto with Cato thou for this shalt join,
And link the Mourning-Bride to Proserpine.
Grub-Street! thy fall should man and gods conspire,
Thy stage shall stand, insure it but from fire.
Another Eschylus appears! prepare

For new abortions, all ye pregnant fair!
In flames like Semele's, he brought to bed,
While opening hell spouts wild-fire at your head.'
‹ Now, Bavius, take the poppy from thy brow,
And place it here! here all ye heroes bow!

"This, this is he foretold by ancient rhymes, 319 The' Augustus born to bring Saturnian times.

IMITATIONS.

319, 320 This, this is he foretold by ancient rhymes,
The Augustus, &c.]

Hic vir, hic est! tibi quem promitti sæpius audis,
Augustus Cæsar, divi genus: aurea condet

Sæcula qui rursus Latio, regnata per arva

Saturno quondam'-

f

VIRG. Eu. VI.

Saturnian here relates to the age of lead, mentioned, B. 1.

ver. 26.

Signs following signs lead on the mighty year!
See! the dull stars roll round and re-appear.
See, see, our own true Phœbus wears the bays!
Our Midas sits Lord Chancellor of plays!
On poets' tombs see Benson's titles writ! 325
Lo! Ambrose Philips is prefer'd for wit! 326
See under Ripley rise a new Whitehall,
While Jones' and Boyle's united labours fall:

REMARKS.

325 On poet's tombs see Benson's titles writ !] William Benson (Surveyor of the Buildings to his Majesty King Geo 1.) gave in a report to the Lords, that their house and the Painted Chamber adjoining were in immediate danger of falling; whereupon the Lords met in a committee to appoint some other place to sit in while the house should be taken down. But it being proposed to cause some other builders first to inspect it, they found it in very good condition. The Lords upon this were going upon an address to the King against Benson for such a misrepresentation; but the Earl of Sunderland, then Secretary, gave them an assurance that his Majesty would remove him, which was done accordingly. In favour of this man, the famous Sir Christopher Wren, who had been architect to the Crown for above fifty years, who built most of the churches in London, laid the first stone of St. Paul's, and lived to finish it, had been displaced from his employment at the age of near ninety years.

W.

Sir Christopher died in 1723, at the age of 91; and was buried under his own great fabric, with four words that comprehend his merit and his fame: Si quæras monumentum, circumspice!' WALPOLE'S Anecdotes.

326-Ambrose Philips.] He was (saith Mr. Jacob) one of the wits at Button's, and a justice of the peace.' But he hath since met with higher preferment in Ireland: and a much greater character we have of him in Mr Gildon's Complete Art of Poetry, Vol. I. p. 157. Indeed, he confesses, he dares not set him quite on the same foot with Virgil, lest it should seem fiattery, but he is much mistaken if posterity does not afford him a greater esteem than he at present enjoys.' He endeavoured to create some misunder standing between our author and Mr. Addison, whom also soon after he abused as much.

W.

330

While Wren with sorrow to the grave descends,
Gay dies unpension'd, with a hundred friends ;
Hibernian politics, O Swift! thy fate;
And Pope's ten years to comment and translate.
Proceed, great days! till learning fly the
shore, 333

Till Birch shall blush with noble blood no more;
Till Thames see Eton's sons for ever play,
Till Westminster's whole year be holiday;
Till Isis' elders reel, their pupil's sport,
And Alma Mater lie dissolv'd in port!'

6 Enough! enough!' the raptur'd monarch cries; And through the ivory gate the vision flies. 340

REMARKS.

350 Gay dies unpension'd, &c.] See Mr. Gay's fable of the Hare and many Friends. This gentleman was early in the friendship of our author, which continued to his death. He wrote several works of humour with great success: The Shepherd's Week, Trivia, The What-d ye-call it, Fables; and lastly, that prodigy of fortune, the Beggar's Opera.

355 Proceed great days! &c.-Till Birch shall blush, &c.] Another great prophet of Dulness, on this side Styx, promiseth those days to be near at hand. 'The devil (saith he) licensed bishops to license masters of schools to instruct youth in the knowledge of the heathen gods, their religion, &c. The schools and universities will soon be tired and ashamed of classics, and such trumpery.' Hutchinson's Use of Reason recovered. SCRIBL.

340 And through the iv'ry gate, &c.

'Sunt geminæ somni portæ ; quarum altera fertur
Cornea, qua veris facilis datur exitus umbris ;
Altera, candenti perfecta nitens elephanto;
Sed falsa ad cœlum mittunt insomnia manes.'

VIRG. Eu. VI.