i»M ^^^T^l Tveadin? Room Oaly Jr'3\ THE FRIBBLERIAD. F Vir> Neutrum. Pul. in Hermoph, ill LONDON: Printed for J. Coote, at the King's- Arms, in Patcr-Noiler-Row. MDCCLXL [ Price One Shilling. ] 4925 6 - ") " e *. ' i. ■":•*». *. .. . I ■ I • Mr'AiS ■ . ) J l. o en en pq ADVERTISEMENT. £ ) E it known unto you, gentle or ungentle reader, JLJ that the author of the following poem is a vo- lunteer in the ferviee, or rather a poetical knight errant, who, according to the oath taken at the late inftallation, is exhorted and admonijhed (by Apollo to be fure) to ufe his /word in defence of all equity a?id jujlice to the utmofl of his power. His brother £{uixote> of immortal memory, try'd his prowels upon Sheep and Windmills -r- Our champion does very near the fame ; and calls forth to the field an unhiorwn knight, who has the formidable X, Y, Z, in his train. — And that he may not be thought to engage with too great odds, on his fide, he oppofes to them his own three trufly fquires\ A, B, C, who are refolved to ftand by A 2 him 271753 [ iv ] him, ami fight all the weapons through, from Epia Poetry to Epigram, as long as there is a letter left; {landing in the Englijh alphabet — and now, Mr # Churchill may know, that there is — A Quixote of the age will" dare, To wage a war with dirt, and fight with air. When the aforefaid unknown knight mall pkafe to ap- pear with his beaver up> he may expect that our ad- venturer will fhew his face too* — In the mean time, we will divert him in our turn with a little hu/h-Rght^ ing, which he has been endeavouring to entertain the town with, for more than a twelvemonth pafL It is therefore proper to inform thee, reader, for as yet perhaps thou haft not heard of it, that there is a certain weekly paper, called the Craftfman ftill exifb- ing, if it may be call'd exiftenee to crawl about from week to week, and be kept alive by thofe laft refources of hungry ingenuity, falfehood and defamation. In this faid paper a certain gentleman who fubferibes himfelf X, Y, Z, [ v. J X, Y, Z, a volunteer too in the fervice, has thrown about his dirt in a moft extraordinary manner, and has attacked our ftage heroj with, unwearied malevo- lence both in his public and private character ; but indeed his rancour being too much for his wit, he has let his heart indulge itfelf at the expence of his head, and has moft imprudently made aflertions in the bit- ternefs of his fpirit, which can be contradicted by ev'ry attender upon the theatre. — It would be endlefs and out of place here to point out his want of tafte, and even common truth* in his account of the man- ner of Mr. Garrkk\ fpeaking and acting in his vari- ous characters ;.. of his moft ungentlemanlike, as well as unjuft abufe of his perfon* voice,, age, &c, 8cc, &c ; for there is no kind of meannefs, as Mo?itaigne well obferves, that a true malignant fpirit will not defcend to. — To give one inftance among a thoufand of his upright intentions — This worthy gentleman, Mr. X, Y, Z, not content with expofing his impotent malice weekly to the publick, was at the pains and expence to collect his papers into one volume, and ev'n fend 'em to fbme of Mr. Garrick's Friends, leaft the the obfcurity and difreputation of the paper, in which they firft made their appearance, fhould have kept his malice totally a fecret — The Reviewers gave their fentiments of this curious collection, in the following manner — " Thefe are the overflowings of fpleen, ignorance, conceit, and difappointment." Crit. Rev, Jan. 1761. " The defign of publifhing thefe importa?rt pieces of criticifm, is, to prevent the fad misfortune of their linking into oblivion with a laft year's news-paper. If we believe the author, all the praifes that have hitherto been given to Mr. Garrick> as an aclor, are fo entirely without foundation, that " he never did, " nor never could, fpeak ten fucceflive lines of " Shakefpear with grammatical propriety." This is an affertion fo contrary to the opinion of many better' critics than this author fhews himfelf to he, and in reality fo oppofite to truth, that it is alone fufficient to invalidate all his reafonings upon the fubjecV' Monthly Rev. Dec. 1760. It It would take up too much time at prefent to exhibit our hero X, Y, Z, in all his proper colours, we fhall leave that talk to a much abler hand, who will very foon more fully detect and expofe him and his defigns. — But to return to our poem — It may properly be called an Iliad in a nutjhell \ For though it does not coniift of many more than 400 lines, it contains all the effential epic properties, — the plan, fentiments, character, didtion, moral, metre, and even the heroes themfelves, all in miniature. — The following epigram printed in the Ledger, was the corner-ftone of the whole, and furnifhed us with ideas of the redoubted Fizgigs the Achilles of the Fribbleriad — To X, Y, Z. Indeed moid feverely poor Garrici you handle, ' Not bigots damn more with their bell, book and candle ; Tho 1 [ viii ] Tho' you with the town about him difagree, He joins with the town in their judgment of thee : So dainty, fo dev'lifh, is all that you fcribble, Not a foul but can fee 'tis the fpite of a Fribble \ And all will expecl you, when forth you mall come, With a round fmirking face ', and &jut with your bum. If X, Y, Z, is really fuch a thing, as here reprefent- ed, he is moft welcome to the honour we have done him ; if he is not^ he may thank his own malignant dif- pofition, that made it natural to fuppofe, that fuch poor fpite could proceed from no one, who was not in his perfon, manners, mind and heart an arrant Fribble, THE ] _ 1 1 ■ THE FRIBBLERIAD. WHO is this Scribbler, X, Y, Z ? Who ftill writes on, tho' little read ? Whofe falfhood, malice, envy, Ipite, So often grin, yet feldom bite ? Say, Garrick, does he write for bread, This friend of yours, this X, Y, Z ? For pleafure fure, not bread — 'twere vain To write for that he ne'er could gain : No calls of nature to excufe him, He deals in rancour to amufe him ; B A [ * ] A Man it feems — 'tis hard to fay — A Woman then ? — a moment pray — Unknown as yet by fex or feature, Suppofe we try to guefs the creature \. Whether a wit, or a pretender ? Of mafculine ox female gender? Some things it does may pafs for either, And fome it does belong to neither : It is fo fibbing, flandering, fpiteful, In phrafe fo dainty, fo delightful ; So fond of all it reads and writes, So waggifh when the maggot bites : Such fpleen, fuch wickednefs, and whim, 7/ muft be Woman, and a Brim. But then the learning and the Latin ! The ends of Horace come fo pat in, And wanting wit, it makes fuch fhift, To fill up gaps with Pope, and Swift, As cunning houfewives bait their traps, And take their game with bits and fcraps ; For t 3 ] For playhoufe critics, keen as mice, Are ever greedy, never nice ; And rank abufe, like toafted cheefe, Will catch as many as you pleafe. In fhort 'tis eafily difcerning, By here and there a patch of learning, The creature ? s Male — fay all we can, It muft be fomething like a man — What, like a man, from day to fhrink, And feek revenge with pen and ink? On mifchief bent, his name conceal, And like a toad in fecret ileal, There fwell with venom inward pent Till out he crawls to give it vent. Hate join'd with Fear will fhun the light, But Hate and Manhood fairly fight — . . ^Tis manhood's mark to face the foe, And not in ambufh give the blow ; The Savage thus, lefs man than beaft, Upon his foe will fall and feaft, From bum, or hole, his arrows fend, To wound his prey, then tear and rend ; B 2 For [ 4 ] For fear and hatred in conjunction, Make wretches that feel no compunction. : With colours flying, beat of drum, Unlike to this, fee Churchill 'come! And now like Hercules he ftands, Unmafk'd his face, but arm'd his hands \ Alike prepar'd to write or drub ! This holds a Pen> and that a Club t A Club ! which nerves like his can wield, And form'd, a wit, like his, to fhield. Mine is the Rofciad, mine, he cries ; Who fays 'tis not, I fay, he lies. To falfhood and to fear a ftranger, Not one fhall fhare my fame or danger ; Let thofe who write with fear or friame, Thofe Craft/men fcribblers hide their name! My name is Churchill ! — Thus he fpoke, . And thrice he wav'd his knotted oak : That done, he paus'd — prepar'd the blow, Impartial fyard ! for friend and foe. if C 5 ] If fuch are manhood's feats and plan Poor X, Y, Z, will prove no man. Nor male ? nor female ? — then on oath We fafely may pronounce it Both. What ! of that wriggling, fribbling race, The cnrfe of nature, and difgrace ? That mixture bafe, which fiends fent forth To taint and vilify all worth- — Whofe rancour knows nor bounds, nor meafure, Feels every paffion, taftes no pleafure > The want of power, all peace deftroying, For ever wifhingj ne'er enjoying — So fmiling, fmirking, foft in feature, You'd fwear it was the gentleft creature — . But touch its pride, the Lady-fellow, From fickly pale, turns deadly yellow — Male, female, vanifh, — fiends appear — And all is malice, rage and fear — What in the heart breeds all this evil ? Makes man on earth a very devil ? Corrupts [ 6 ] Corrupts the mind, and tortures fenfe ? Malignity with Impotence. Say Goffip Mufe, who lov'fl: to prattle And fill the town with tittle tattle — To tell a fecret fuch a blifs is ! Say for what caufe thefe Mafter-Mifles To Garrick fuch a hatred bore, That long they wifh'd to pinch him fore ; To bind the monfter hand and foot, Like Gulliver in Lilliput, With birchen twigs to flea his fkin, And each to flick him with a pin ? — Are things fo delicate, fo fell ! Can Cherubim be imps of hell ? Tell us how fpite a Icheme begot, Who laid the eggs, who hatch'd the plot ; O fing in namby-pamby feet, Like to the fubjecl, tripping neat ; Snatch every grace that fancy reaches ; Relate their paflions, plottings, fpeeches ; You, [ 7 J You, when their Panfribblerium fat, Saw 'em conven'd, and heard their chat : Saw all their wriggling, fuming, fretting, Their nodding, frifking, and curvetting ; Each minute faw their rage grow flronger, Till the dear things could hold no longer ;. But out burft forth the dreadful vow, To do a deed ! — but When? and How? And Where? — O Mufe, thy lyre new firing, The Howy the When r the Where to fing ! Say in what fign the fun had enter' d, When thefe fweet fouls on plotting ventur'd — 'Twas when the balmy breath of May, Makes tender lambkins lport and play ; When tend'rer Fribbles walk, and dare To gather nofegays in the air — «. 'Twas at that time of all the year When flowers and butterflies appear, When brooding warmth on nature lies, And circulates the blood of flies, — Then Fribbles were with Fribbles leaguing, And met for plotting and intriguing. * There [ 8 ] There is a place, upon a hill, Where cits of pleafure take their fill, Where hautboys fcream, and fiddles fqueak, To fweat the ditto once a week ; Where joy of late, unmix'd with noife, Of romping girls, and drunken boys ,; Where Decency^ fweet maid, appear'd, And in her hand brought Johnny Beard \ 'Twas Here — (for public rooms are free,) They met to plot, and drink their tea- Each on a fattin ftool wasfeated, Which nicely quilted, curtain'd, pleated, Did all their various fkill difplay : Each work'd his own to grace the day — Above the reft, and fet apart, A Chair was plac'd ; where curious art With lace and fringe to honour meant Hint) they fhould chufe their Pre/ident. No longer now the kettle fimmers, The fmoke afcends, or cotton glimmers^ The [ 9 ] The tea was done, the cups revers'd ; Lord Trip began — " May I be curs'd : " May this right hand grow brown and fpeckled, " This njfe be pimpled, face be freckled, " May my fick monkey ne'er get up ; " May my fweet Dido die in pup, " Nay may I meet a worfe difafter, cc My finger cut, and have no plaifter, — " No cordial drops when dead with vapour, " Be taken fhort and have no paper — as a Roman, gave the blow ; " I, as a Fribble, flab your foe ; " He mourn'd the deed, would not prevent it, - " I'll do the deed — and then * lament it.*' — At this all tongues their hearts obey, A burft of rapture forc'd it's way, — • Bravo ! — Braviffimo ! — Huzza ! All 'rofe at once — then hand in hand* Each link'd to each, the heroes Hand— * Like faries form a magic round, — Then vow-— and tremble at the found -** By all that's dear to human kind, By every tye can Fribbles bind ; They vow — that with their lateft breath. They'll ftand by Fizgig-- -Life or death* . * Some iASS. read repent it. 271752 The :> . c 20 3 The kifs goes round the parting friends — The chair is left — th' affembly ends. Then each, his fpirit to recruit, For bifcuits call, and candy'd fruit ; And lip, his flutter'd nerves to heal, Warm water, fack, and orange-peel — Then made as warm, as warmth could make 'em All to their feveral homes betake 'em-— Save one, who, harrafs'd with the chair, Remain' d at Hampjlead for the air — Now, Garrick, for the future know Where moft you have defervdz.- foe. — * Can yoii their rage with juflice 'blame I To you they owe their publick fhame. — Tho' long they flept, they were not dead * y Their malice wakes in X, Y y Z. —- - • And now burfts forth their treasur'd gall, - Through &#/,--- Cock Fribble of them all. / FINIS. r 4 929 q University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. MW 07 1998 due i ms niow m s RECEIVED UHiVERSm of CALIFORNIA AT | U |iiimhimi TH ii RN REGI0NA1 - LIBRARY FACILITY AA 000173 184 J