Confign'd to heaven, the deftin'd bark he enter'd,
And shap'd a course none e'er before had ventur'd.
The Celtic shores receding far behind,

With swelling fails he fcuds before the wind;
His ftout-ribb'd keels untravers'd billows plow,
Hope at the helm, and courage at the bow;
The voyage long, and great was his distress,
But perfeverance crown'd him with fuccefs.
A world obtain`d, now trim in glory ride
His argofies fafe on their native tide.

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Fame, almost breathless, flew with the report,

And foon in person he arrives at court;

Was graciously receiv'd—the people stare !

To fee plain dealing so respected there.

He fhow'd his charts, defcrib'd the courfes run,

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The realms discover'd, and the trophies won;

The battles, fieges, hair-breadth scapes narrated;

But little in his own behalf dilated;

And to repay a tyrant's scanty aid,

Crowns at his feet, and mighty empires laid;

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Nor was the homage scorn'd; for there's a time

When kings have eyes and worth appears no crime:

But genuine worth, confpicuous near a crown,

Tho' rarely seen, is quickly joftled down.

Had he been read in men and manners more,

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He might have kept some fnug douceurs in store.

Thro

Thro' all degrees, in every age and nation,

Smiles dwell on hope, and friends on expectation.

Effential fervices themselves defeat,

And prove, tho' good, the agent indiscreet;

In triple ratio as the debt encreases,

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Expectance grows and obligation ceases :

Affert your claims, 'tis plain to every dunce,

-That damns your fame and cancels them at once;
And not unfrequently among the great,

The path of honour is the road to hate;
This he experienced, but was wife too late.
"Twas now the work of enmity began,

And for his merit all deteft the man ;

Some thought he might speak true, and others doubted;

Some gave the lie direct, and numbers flouted;

Some conftrued it a personal affront,

And swore, if not prevented, they had don't;
The thing was plain; they knew it to a peg-
On this the man, prepar'd, produc'd an egg;

He had of envy and detraction heard,
And opportunely stood upon his guard.

'My lords! great latitude of felf-defence
Appears not in the log-book of my sense;
How should an uncouth tar, bred up in storms,
Frame his rude speech by your scholastic forms?

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'Expos'd

6

Expos'd to shoals, from which no craft's exempt,

I foon fhould founder in the vain attempt.

• The ableft timoneer, expert and clever,

• Can't hold the watch and keep the deck for ever:

Suppofe then, ferious bufinefs we fufpend,
And for amusement fet the Egg on end.

''Tis not for me with cavaliers to fhine,

And in your courtly games no skill is mine;
The Egg imported from abroad I own,

[100

• Where bulls are scarce, and ombre is unknown :— Here, try it, good, my Lord! two minutes labour • The rule prescribes, then pafs it to your neighbour.' At his requeft each took the Egg in hand, But not a Don of them could make it ftand. Oft and again alternately they toil'd,

IOS

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Tried every way, and every way were foil'd;
Then in a peevish, fupercilious tone

Declare unanimous, 'twas not to be done :

He fmil'd, and taking it, the end he crack'd,

And fo to their confufion prov'd the fact.

Shrewd was the bait, and credit thus maintain’d;

But fecret malice is not fo reftrain'd:

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His deftiny to work his fall conspires,

And for his foes accomplish'd their defires.

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A rival ftarted in the great defign,

Of fame ambitious, born a Florentine;

The

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The way mark'd out, with happier omens fraught,
He gain'd the haven, and the advantage caught.
The prince in honour's feat the minion plac'd,
And fovereign beauty with her favour grac'd;
His recent deeds obscur'd the other's fame,
And one keen hit immortaliz'd his name.
But hard indeed the first adventurer's lot,
Rack'd with the wounds of man remembering not. 130

Ye connoifeurs! who boast mechanic skill,

Artifts! or amateurs! or what you will!
Who furnish fuel juft to feed contention,
And, lacking genius, thrive by circumvention;

You! who, all talents but your own decrying,

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Are fuch adepts, in theory, at flying!

No doubt, if fortune favour, a balloon

Conftructed properly might scale the moon;

The journey certes would enhance your glory,

[140

Maugre friend WILKINS who went there before ye :

Yet, in the name of justice, let me beg,

Since you've been told the secret of the Egg,

With modefty your high pretenfions veil,

And, ere you rafhly judge, apply the tale :

To merit ever give the credit due,

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And honour truth, left truth dishonour you.

THE

ADDRESSED TO THE MAYOR OF LIVERPOOL,

SUNDAY, JULY XXIXTH, MDCCLXXXVII.

IN early youth o'er MERSEY's tide
By wayward fortune trick'd,
While fleep my weary eyelids clos'd,
I got my pockets pick'd.

Twice fifteen years elaps'd, again
The skippers mock'd my care;
For, tho' I kept a good look-out,
They robb'd me in the fare.

The ferry much improv'd I found,
The port, the docks, the ftreets;
But, O! curft thirft of lucre! ftill
Difgrac'd with rogues and cheats.

Yet partial to this goodly town,
It flatters native pride,

That though I suffer'd and was vex'd,

'Twas from the farther fide.

Nor