3291 
 A1K36 
 
 Ranelagh
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 RANELAGH 
 
 OEM. 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR OF SOME LATE 
 
 PUBLICATIONS, 
 
 Here, night by night, thy Priefts in myftic round, 
 With weary footfteps print the hallow'd ground ; 
 All ranks revolving in their feveral fpheres, 
 Kings, Nobles, Commoners, and Irifh Peers. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. ALMON, OPPOSITE BURLINGTON - HOUSE, 
 IN PICCADILLY. 1777. 
 
 [Price One Shilling.]
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 GENTLE READER, 
 
 vJRITICS, like children and fox-hunters, have a na- 
 tural antipathy to new acquaintance. For this reafon, I 
 thought it neceflary to inform you in my title-page, that 
 I had already had the honour of being introduced to 
 your company. Had I been difpofed to be vain, I might 
 have boafted with fome reafon of the reception I met 
 with. But modefty is my foible. For this reafon I 
 have not informed you, who, or what I am. Indeed, 
 
 fuch
 
 IV 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 fuch. information would have been .of little fervice to 
 you. I am neither a Lord nor a Gambler ; confequently 
 you cannot be acquainted with my perfon. Adieu. If 
 in the following Poem you fhould meet with any to- 
 lerable lines, you will not think your fhilling ill be- 
 ftowed ; if not, you would ftill wifh me at the Devil, 
 though I fhould fwell my Preface into a Volume. 
 
 R A N E-
 
 R A N E L A G H, &c, 
 
 xJTODDESS of Fafhion! whofe enlivening ray 
 
 Corrects the dullnefs of our northern clay, 
 
 Who late didft guide thy STANHOPE'S * eafy pen 
 
 To preach the ways of Elegance to men, 
 
 To rob proud Virtue of her awful ftate, 5 
 
 To teach rough honefty to grow honnete^ 
 
 With fraud to guard the heart, with fmiles the face* 
 
 To bid us carve with eafe> and ftab with grace 
 
 * JUft Earl of CheftcrEeld. 
 
 B Once
 
 ( 2 ) 
 
 Once more, great Queen! infpire a Briton's ftrain, 
 
 To fing the motley wonders of thy reign. 10 
 
 No more can wretched Gallia claim thy ftay ; 
 There monkifli Louis holds his gloomy fway ; 
 There with his fubjects' lives the tyrant fports, 
 And waftes whole kingdoms, while he peoples courts*; 
 There fuperftitious Dullnefs keeps her throne, 15 
 
 And every Mufe is Germanized to ftone ! 
 
 Not fuch the fcene in Britain's favour'd Hie j 
 Here, all the Loves, and all the Graces fmile ; 
 
 * The Queen of France has not yet had any children, but a poet muft be 
 fometimes allowed to exercife his gift of fecond-fight j particularly, when 
 (as in the prefent cafe) that poet is a Scotchman* 
 
 E'en
 
 ( 3 ) 
 
 E'en pedant Learning fmooths her wrinkled brow, 
 
 E'en Johnfon drains his neck, and ftrives to bow. 20 
 
 The Mufes here like Lapland witches fly y 
 
 And, perch'd on Epic broom-flicks, fweep the iky ; 
 
 Now, with the Laureat foar they know not whither, 
 
 Now fink to Hell, and fay C s fent them thither; 
 
 That laft leaft bard of the Lucilian fchool, 35 
 
 Sunk from a Devil to an April Fool ! 
 
 Haft thou a wifh beyond the Mufe's praife- 
 Speak, and thy ADAMS fliall a temple raife ; 
 Shall bid once more his pye-bald cielings glare, 
 And pafteboard columns brave the wint'ry air, 30 
 
 Which o'er the brick diffufe a milder grace, 
 Like milk-white plaifters on a bleeding face. 
 
 Meanwhile
 
 ( 4 ) 
 
 Meanwhile in RANELAGH behold a fane, 
 
 Which e'en the Thunderer might not difdain, 
 
 Here, night by night, thy Priefts in myftic round 35 
 
 With weary footfteps print the hallow'd ground j 
 
 All ranks revolving in their feveral fpheres, 
 
 Kings, Nobles, Commoners, and Irifh Peers. 
 
 Here pious N-RTH revolves in filent grief 
 
 The price of Heffians, and the price of beef; 40 
 
 In fpeculation pays a nation's debt^ 
 
 And treads on profirate rebels, in Gazette ! 
 
 There MINDEN ftalks, a great and hated name, 
 
 Damn'd by his fears to everlafting fame 1 
 
 Yet fliall his wavering and irrefolute foul 43 
 
 Prefcribe to Britain's thunders where to roll ; 
 
 Our fons ffiall. arm to crufli a traitor's foes*. 
 
 And thaw with kindred blood Canadian fnows., 
 
 Gods I
 
 ( s ) 
 
 Gods ! with what joy his coward heart will fmile 
 O'er hoary C-RL-T-N'S ill-requited toil! 50 
 
 'How will thofe eyes devour each bleeding fear 
 That yawns unfeen beneath the glittering ftar ! 
 That glittering ftar with which our K - s requite 
 Each proud Scotch lawyer's nephew's parafite, 
 And which, fhould Heaven prolong great B -K'S reign, , 
 May grace a monkey as it graces * 1 
 
 Now 'mid ft the crowd obferve that aukward wight, 
 " Wallowing unwieldy, enormous in his might !'* 
 
 * ? Negroes, as well as turkies and mackarell, are fuppofed to have 3 
 ftrong partiality for any thing that is red. For this reafon, we hope that no 
 Governor will for the future be fent out to the fugar Colonies without 
 being frft invefted with the Order of the Bath; 
 
 C In
 
 ( 6 ) 
 
 In that dull void, in that unmeaning face, 
 
 Behold the heir of and grace ; 66 
 
 Behold the blood that fwell'd thy fav'rite's veins, 
 Congeal'd and ftagnate, in an ideot's brains ! 
 Seek'ft thou his flory ? All we know is this * 
 He hung his tutor, and he bilk'd the Swifs. 
 
 But fee thy FANNIUS comes by adverfe Fate 65 
 
 Pinn'd to a ftar, and forc'd to carry weight ; 
 Yet all that man can do poor FANNIUS does, 
 He fmirks, and fmiles, and ogles as he goes, 
 With either eye he makes fome huflband jealous, 
 Thofe eyes are piercers, would that they were fellows. 70 
 
 * If this Nobleman has paid his debts in Switzerland, we beg his pardon.' 
 
 Next
 
 ( 7 ) 
 
 Next trips DENTATUS. Mark that adive heel; 
 
 You'd think he'd trod on the Eledric Eel ! 
 
 Old time had once on all his beauties prey'd, 
 
 His hairs were ftolen, and his teeth had ftray'd ; 
 
 Now, in each jaw fo vaft a row appears, 7 5 
 
 Should he but fmile, we tremble for his ears * ! 
 
 But foft to Churchill's and M c Gregor's art 
 Leave we thefe windings of the human heart ; 
 To trace out Nature in each nice detail, 
 To paint each fold in Folly's iilken veil, So 
 
 * It is very extraordinary, that notwithftanding this Nobleman's un- 
 common fondnefs for dancing, he mould have only once kicked out his teeth* 
 It is perhaps equally extraordinary, that he mould on that occafion have 
 thrown his handkerchief on them with fo much addrefs, as to conceal the 
 misfortune from the greateft part of the company. 
 
 Be
 
 ( 8 ) 
 
 Be this their boaft~.-We catch at thcfe alone, 
 
 Thofe after-plaits which Fafhion's hand has thrown* 
 
 And now no {ingle fools for notice call, 
 
 For fee that gronpe th' epitome of all ! 
 
 They firft explain'd immortal CHATHAM'S thefis, 85 
 
 < The more we owe, the more our wealth increafes." 
 
 As they diredr, our fable plumes we rear, 
 
 Thofe plumes that wave o'er martyr'd Virtue's bier ; 
 
 Comprefs the waift, the hips and bread extend, 
 
 Till, like the hour-glafs fwoln at either end, 90 
 
 The emblematic fair appears to chide 
 
 Our wafte of time, and minutes mifapplied* 
 
 To them, fole arbiters of tafte and wit, 
 
 Cooks, Antiquarians, Taylors, Bards, fubmit ; 
 
 Should fnarling Sceptics afk the reafon why 95 
 
 " C fle's a Lord, and St r's fix feet high I 
 
 But
 
 ( -9 > 
 
 But hark Ye Gods, what means that fudden fhriek ? 
 
 Hath A R crackt th* enamel on her cheek ? 
 
 Hath drunken Thrafo fpoilt Lord Townley's deaths, 
 
 Or grinning Witwou'd pull'd his Lordfliip's nofe? 100 
 
 No- 'tis the cry of joy with great good-nature 
 
 Druid to-night renews his Fete Champetre : 
 
 See where he prattles to th' admiring crew, 
 
 In yellow dreft, Minerva's fav'rite hue ! 
 
 At once both pleas'd and fcar'd, grinning, and pale, 105 
 
 Like Jonas half-digefted by the whale I 
 
 See how our beaux the glad occafion feize, 
 
 For beaux, like monkies, fhould be fond of trees ; 
 
 While wondering belles behold with ravifh'd eye 
 
 The cloudlefs beauties of an Englifli iky ! no 
 
 Yet
 
 (10 ) 
 
 Yet 'mid the thoughtlefs croud one form appears, 
 Whofe ling'ring fteps are moiften'd by her tears : 
 In vain did Beauty from her fairy bow'r, 
 To deck her Hebe, cull each brighteft flow'r ; 
 And the meek hand of Innocence beftow 115 
 
 On every charm her mildeft, fofteft glow ; 
 At Envy's call, the proftituted Mufe 
 With endlefs rage her beauteous prey purfues. 
 'Tis well let wrinkled age in peace repofe, 
 Detraction preys not on the wither'd rofe ; 120 
 
 Here fhall the worm with keeneft tranfport feaft, 
 And wound all Nature in her fav'rite's bread. 
 Vengeance proceed yet fee what friends await 
 To fnatch the lovely vidim from her fate. 
 Thofe fons of Mis'ry, by her bounty fed, 125 
 
 Shall call down endlefs bleffings on her head j 
 
 For
 
 For her their fuppliant eyes to Heaven (hall rear, 
 
 For her who chac'd Diftra&ion's burning tear : 
 
 E'en the poor nurfling, whom flie deign'd to fave', 
 
 When fell Defpair had dug th' untimely grave, 130 
 
 E'en he, his infant Gratitude fliall fliow, 
 
 Cling to her foft'ring breaft, and intercept the blow ! 
 
 N I S.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 The fol g a 
 
 hand rrice 
 
 155. 
 
 1 HE inal 
 
 poems. 
 
 A Farr anf- 
 
 lated and 
 
 AnH< 
 
 Heroic 
 
 Ode to 
 
 Genius 
 
 Americ 
 
 LordC 
 
 Kien L 
 
 The A< FormL9-32m-8,'57(.C8680s4)444 
 
 The Optimift. i s. 
 
 Macarony Fables, gd Edition. 23, 6d. 
 
 Lyric Confultations, By the fame. 35. 
 
 Ode on Sir W. Brown's Legacy. 6d. 
 
 La Fete Champetre. is. 
 
 Verfes to -, with a New Year's Gifr. is. 
 
 Printed for J. ALMON, oppofite Burlington-Houfe, in Piccadilly.- 
 
 Of whom may alfo be had, 
 
 Sappho. A Poetic Rhapfody. Infcribed to the Fair Patronefs of Bath 
 Eafton. (Printed in the fame fize as the Bath Eafton Poems.) Price is.. 

 
 PR 
 
 3291 
 A1H5S 
 
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