And, fhould a friend attempt to fet him right,
His Lordship would impute it all to fpite;
Would love his favourite better than before,
And trust his honefty just so much more.
Thus families, like realms, with equal fate,
Are funk by premier miniflers of fate.

Some, when an heir fucceeds, go boldly on,
And, as they robb'd the father, rob the fon.
A knave, who deep imbroils his lord's affairs,
Will foon grow neceffary to his heirs.
His policy confifts in fetting traps,

In finding ways and means, and flopping gaps;
He knows a thousand tricks whene'er he please,
Though not to cure, yet palliate each disease.
In either cafe, an equal chance is run;
For, keep or turn him out, my Lord's undone.
You want a hand to clear a filthy fink;
No cleanly workman can endure the stink.
A ftrong dilemma in a desperate cafe!
To act with infamy, or quit the place.

A bungler thus, who fcarce the nail can hit,
With driving wrong will make the pannel fplit:
Nor dares an abler workman undertake

To drive a fecond, left the whole fhould break.
In every court the parallel will hold;

And kings, like private folks, are bought and fold.
The ruling rogue, who dreads to be cashier'd,
Contrives, as he is hated, to be fear'd:
Confounds accounts, perplexes all affairs;
For vengeance more imbrails, than skill repairs.

Se

So robbers (and their ends are just the fame),
To 'fcape inquiries, leave the boufe in flame.
I knew a brazen minifter of ftate,

Who bore for twice ten years the public hate,
In every mouth the question moft in vogue
Was, When will they turn out this odious rogue ?
A juncture happen'd in his highest pride :
While be went robbing on, old master dy’d. -
We thought there now remain'd no room to doubt
His work is done, the minifter muft out.

The court invited more than one or two;
Will you, Sir Spencer? or, Will you, or you ?
But not a foul his office durft accept ;

The fubtle knave had all the plunder swept :
And, fuch was then the temper of the times,
He ow'd his preservation to his crimes.
The candidates obferv'd his dirty paws;

Nor found it difficult to guess the cause :

But, when they smelt fuch foul corruptions round him,
Away they fled, and left him as they found him.
Thus, when a greedy floven once has thrown
His not into the mess, 'tis all his gwB.

ON

ON THE IRISH BISHOPS *.

173T.

LD Latimer preaching did fairly defcribe

OLD

A bishop, who rul'd all the rest of his tribe;
And who is this bifhop? and where does he dwell?
Why truly 'tis Satan, arch-bishop of hell.

And He was a primate, and He wore a mitre
Surrounded with jewels of fulphur and nitre.
How nearly this bishop our bishops resembles !
But he has the odds, who believes and who trembles.
Could you fee his grim grace, for a pound to a penny,
You'd fwear it must be the baboon of Kilkenny:
Poor Satan will think the comparison odious;
I wish I could find him out one inore commodious.
But this I am fure, the most reverend old dragon
Has got on the bench many bishops fuffragan;
And all men believe he refides there incog.
To give them by turns an invifible jog.

Our bishops, puft up with wealth and with pride,
To hell on the backs of the clergy would ride.
They mounted and labour'd with whip and with fpur,
In vain-for the devil a parfon would stir.

So the Commons unhors'd them; and this was their doom,

On their crofiers to ride, like a witch on a broom.

* Occafioned by their endeavouring to get an act to divide the church-livings; which bill was rejected by the Irish houfe of commons.

Though

Though they gallop'd fo faft, on the road you may find

'em,

And have left us but three out of twenty behind 'em,
Lord Bolton's good grace, lord Car, and lord Howard,
In fpight of the devil, would ftill be untoward :
They came of good kindred, and could not endure
Their former companions fhould beg at their door.
When Chrift was betray'd to Pilate the prætor,
Of a dozen apostles but one prov'd a traitor :
One traitor alone, and faithful eleven;

But we can afford you fix traitors in seven.

What a clutter with clippings, dividings, and cleavings! And the clergy forfooth must take up with their leavings. If making divifions was all their intent,

They 've done it, we thank them, but not as they meant;
And fo may fuch bishops for ever divide,

That no honeft heathen would be on their fide.
How should we rejoice, if, like Judas the first,
Those splitters of parfons in funder should burst!
Now hear an allufion : - A mitre, you know,
Is divided above, but united below.

If this you confider, our emblem is right;
The bifhops divide, but the clergy unite.
Should the bottom be fplit, our bishops would dread
That the mitre would never ftick faft on their head:
And yet they have learnt the chief art of a fovereign,
As Machiavel taught them; divide, and ye govern.
But courage, my lords; though it cannot be faid

That one cloven tongue ever fat on your head;

I'll hold you a groat (and I wish I could fee 't),

If your ftockings were off, you could fhew cloven-feet.

But

But hold, cry the bishops; and give us fair play; Before you condemn us, hear what we can say. What truer affections could ever be shewn, Than faving your fouls by damning our own? And have we not practis'd all methods to gain you; With the tithe of the tithe of the tithe to maintain you; Provided a fund for building you spittals?

You are only to live four years without victuals.

Content, my good lords; but let us change hands; First take you our tithes, and give us your lands. So God blefs the Church and three of our mitres; And God bless the Commons, for biting the biters.

ON THE DEATH OF DR. SWIFT*. Occafioned by reading the following MAXIM in ROCHEFOUCAULT, "Dans l'adverfité de nos "meilleurs amis, nous trouvons toujours quelque "chofe, qui ne nous deplaist pas.

"In the adverfity of our best friends, we always find 66 fomething that doth not displease us."

S Rochefoucault his maxims drew

As

From nature, I believe them true :

They argue no corrupted mind

In him; the fault is in mankind.

* Written in November 1731.

There are two dif

tinct poems on this fubject, one of them containing many fpurious lines. In what is here printed, the genuine parts of both are preserved. N.