The first came cap-a-pee from France, The other Amazon kind heav'n Had arm'd with spirit, wit, and satire: But Cobham had the polish giv'n, And tipp'd her arrows with good-natur To celebrate her eyes, her air Coarse panegyrics would but teaze her. Melissa is her Nom de Guerre. Alas, who would not wish to please her [3] The reader is already apprized who these Ladies wer descriptions are prettily contrasted; and nothing can be mo turned than the compliment to Lady Cobham in the eighth s Fame, in the shape of Mr. P—t, [| (By this time all the parish kno Had told that thereabouts there lu A wicked Imp they call a Poet: Who prowl'd the country far and Bewitch'd the children of the P Cows, and lam'd the Dried the up And suck'd the eggs, and kill'd My Lady heard their joint petition Swore by her coronet and ermir She'd issue out her high commissio To rid the manor of such verm [4] It has been said, that this Gentleman, quaintance of Mr. Gray's in the country, was the liberty here taken with his name; yet, sure reason. The trembling family they daunt, They flirt, they sing, they laugh, they t Rummage his Mother, pinch his Aunt, And up stairs in a whirlwind rattle. Each hole and cupboard they explore, Each creek and cranny of his chamber. Run hurry-skurry round the floor, And o'er the bed and tester clamber; Into the drawers and china pry, Or creased, like dogs-ears, in a folio. On the first marching of the troops, and china pry, g of the troops, Short was his joy. He little knew The power of Magic was no fal Out of the window, whisk, they fl But left a spell upon the table. The words too eager to unriddle, The Poet felt a strange disorder Transparent bird-lime form'd the And chains invisible the border So cunning was the Apparatus, The powerful pot-hooks did so That, will he, nill he, to the Grea He went, as if the Devil drove Yet on his way (no sign of grace, For folks in fear are apt to pra L Own'd, that his quiver and his laurel 'Gainst four such eyes were no protectio The Court was sate, the Culprit there, Such as in silence of the night Come (sweep) along some winding entry (Styack (n) has often seen the sight) Or at the chapel-door stand centry: In peaked hoods and mantles tarnish'd, (n) The Housekeeper. |