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And, of my mere motion and special good grace,
Intended in time to fucceed in your place,
On Tuesday the tenth feditiously came

With a certain falfe traitrefs, one Stella by name,
To the deanry, houfe, and on the north glass,
Where for fear of the cold I never can pafs,
Then and there, vi & armis, with a certain utenfil,
Of value five fhillings, in English a pencil,
Did maliciously, falfely, and traiterously write,
Whilft Stella aforefaid ftood by with a light.
My fifter had lately depos'd upon oath,
That fhe ftopt in her courfe to look at them both :
That Stella was helping, abetting, and aiding;
And fill, as he writ, ftood smiling and reading:
That her eyes were as bright as myself at noon-day,
But her graceful black locks were all mingled with grey;
And by the defcription I certainly know,

"Tis the nymph that I courted fome ten years ago;
Whom when I with the best of my talents endued
On her promise of yielding, fhe acted the prude :
That fome verfes were writ with felonious intent,
Direct to the north, where I never yet went :
That the letters appeared revers'd through the pane,
But in Stella's bright eyes they were plac'd right again;
Wherein the diftinctly could read every line,
And prefently guefs'd that the fancy was mine.
She can fwear to the perfon, whom oft' fhe has feen
At night between Cavan Street and College Green..
Now you fee why his verses fo feldom are fhewn;
The reafon is plain, they are none of his own;

And

And obferve while you live, that no man is fhy
To discover the goods he came honestly by.
If I light on a thought, he will certainly steal it,
And, when he has got it, find ways to conceal it :
Of all the fine things he keeps in the dark,
There's fcarce one in ten but what has my mark;
And let them be seen by the world if he dare,
I'll make it appear that they 're all stolen ware.
But as for the poem he writ on your sash,
I think I have now got him under my lash;
My fifter transcrib'd it last night to his forrow,
And the publick fhall fee 't, if I live till to-morrow.
Through the zodiac around, it fhall quickly be fpread
In all parts of the globe where your language is read.
He knows very well, I ne'er gave a refusal,
When he afk'd for my aid in the forms that are usual :
But the fecret is this; I did lately intend
To write a few verfes on you, as my

friend :
I studied a fortnight, before I could find,
As I rode in my chariot, a thought to my mind,
And refolv'd the next winter (for that is my time,
When the days are at fhorteft) to get it in rhyme;
Till then it was lock'd in my box at Parnaffus ;
When that fubtle companion, in hopes to furpass us,→
Conveys out my paper of hints by a trick,

(For I think in my confcience he deals with Old Nick).
And, from my own stock provided with topicks,
He gets to a window beyond both the tropicks;
There out of my fight, just against the north zone,
Writes down my conceits, and then calls them his own;

And

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And you, like a booby, the bubble can swallow:
Now who but Delany can write like Apollo?
High treafon by ftatute! yet here you object,
He only. ftole hints, but the verfe is correct;
Though the thought be Apollo's, 'tis finely exprefs'd;
So a thief steals my horfe, and has him well drefs'd.
Now, whereas the fad criminal feems paft repentance,
We Phoebus think fit to proceed to his fentence.
Since Delany has dar'd, like Prometheus his fire,
To climb to our region, and thence to steal fire;
We order a vulture, in fhape of the spleen,
prey on his liver, but not to be seen.
And we order our fubjects of every degree
To believe all his verfes were written by me:
And, under the pain of our highest displeasure,
To call nothing his but the rhyme and the measure.
And lastly, for Stella, juft out of her prime,
I'm too much revenged already by time.
In return to her fcorn, I fend her diseases,
But will now be her friend whenever the pleases:
And the gifts I beftow'd her will find her a lover,
Though the lives to be grey as a badger all over.

Το

NEWS FROM PARNASSUS.
B. Y DR. DELANY.

PARNASSUS, February the twenty-feventh.

The Poets affembled here on the eleventh, Conven'd by Apollo, who gave them to know, He'd have a vicegerent in his empire below;

But

But declar'd that no Bard fhould this honour inherit,
Till the reft had agreed he surpass'd them in merit.
Now this, you'll allow, was a difficult cafe,
For each Bard believ'd he'd a right to the place;
So, finding th' affembly grow warm in debate,
them in mind of his Phaeton's fate :

He put

'Twas urg'd to no purpofe; difputes higher rofe,
Scarce Phoebus himself could their quarrels compofe;
Till at length he determin'd that every Bard
Should (each in his turn) be patiently heard.

First, one who believ'd he excell'd in translation, Founds his claim on the doctrine of man's tranfmigration: "Since the foul of great Milton was given to me,

66

66

I hope the convention will quickly agree."

Agree!" quoth Apollo: "from whence is this fool? "Is he just come from reading Pythagoras at school? "Be gone! Sir, you 've got your fubfcriptions in time, "And given in return neither reason nor rhyme."

To the next, fays the God, "Though now I won't "chufe you,

"I'll tell you the reason for which I refuse you: "Love's goddefs has oft' to her parents complain'd "Of my favouring a Bard who her empire difdain'd; "That, at my inftigation, a poem you writ,

"Which to beauty and youth preferr'd judgement and

" wit;

"That, to make you a Laureat, I gave the first voice, "Infpiring the Britons t'approve of my choice. "Jove fent her to me, her power to try; "The Goddefs of Beauty what God can deny?

"She

"She forbids your preferment; I grant her defire. "Appeafe the fair Goddess: you then may rife higher." The next that appear'd had good hopes of fucceeding, For he merited much for his wit and his breeding. "Twas wife in the Britons no favour to show him, He elfe might expect they should pay what they owe him. And therefore they prudently chofe to discard

The Patriot, whofe merits they would not reward. The God, with a fmile, bad his favourite advance, "You were fent by Aftræa her Envoy to France : "You bent your ambition to rife in the state; "I refufe you, becaufe you could stoop to be great." Then a Bard who had been a fuccefsful Tranflator. “The Convention allows me a Verfificator."

Says Apollo, "You mention the least of your merit;
"By your works it appears you have much of my
"fpirit.

“I esteem you so well, that, to tell you the truth,
"The greatest objection against you 's your youth:
“Then be not concern'd you are now laid aside ;
"If you live, you fhall certainly one day prefide."
Another, low bending, Apollo thus greets,

"Twas I taught your fubjects to walk through the "ftreets."

"You taught them to walk! why, they knew it before: "But give me the Bard that can teach them to foar. "Whenever he claims, 'tis his right, I'll confefs, "Who lately attempted my ftyle with fuccefs;. "Who writes like Apollo has most of his fpirit, "And therefore 'tis juft I diftinguifh his merit;

"Who

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