Three Poets, in three distant ages born, On Milton RICHARD BAXTER. 1615-1691. PREACHED as never sure to preach again, And as a dying man to dying men. Love breathing Thanks and Praise. A JOHN BUNYAN. 1628-1688. ND so I penned It down, until at last it came to be, For length and breadth, the bigness which you see. Apology for his Book. Some said, 'John, print it,' others said, 'Not so,' The Slough of Despond. Ibid. Pilgrim's Progress. 164 KING-ROCHESTER-ROSCOMMON. A WILLIAM KING. 1663-1712. ND sat upon a rock, and bobbed for whale. Faint heart ne'er won fair lady.* Orpheus and Eurydice. Line 134. EARL OF ROCHESTER. 1647-1680. HERE lies our sovereign lord the king, Whose word no man relies on; He never says a foolish thing, Nor ever does a wise one. Written on the Bedchamber Door of Charles II. And ever since the Conquest have been fools. EARL OF ROSCOMMON. 1634-1685. MMODEST words admit of no defence, *And let us mind, faint heart ne'er won A lady fair. BURNS to Dr. Blacklock. OTWAY-SHEFFIELD-LEE. 165 THOMAS OTWAY. 1651-1685. WOMAN! lovely woman! Nature made thee To temper man; we had been brutes without you. Angels are painted fair, to look like you : There's in you all that we believe of heaven ; Eternal joy, and everlasting love. Venice Preserved. Act i. Sc. 1. SHEFFIELD, DUKE OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE. 1649-1721. OF F all those arts in which the wise excel, Essay on Poetry. There's no such thing in nature, and you'll draw Read Homer once, and you can read no more, Ibid. Ibid. NATHANIEL LEE. 1650-1692. HEN he will talk-good gods, how he will talk! THEN Alexander the Great. Act i. Sc. 3. 166 WALTER POPE-NORRIS. See the conquering hero comes, Sound the trumpet, beat the drums. Ibid. Act . Sc. 1. 'Tis beauty calls and glory leads the way. Ibid. Act iv. Sc. 2. When Greeks joined Greeks, then was the tug of war. Ibid. Act iv. Sc. 2. MAY DR. WALTER POPE. 1714. AY I govern my passion with absolute sway, wears away. The Old Man's Wish. JOHN NORRIS. 1657-1711. HOW fading are the joys we dote upon! Like apparitions seen and gone ; But those which soonest take their flight Are the most exquisite and strong; Like angel's visits, short and bright, Mortality's too weak to bear them long. The Parting. W1 DANIEL DEFOE. 1661-1731. HEREVER God erects a house of prayer, And 't will be found upon examination, The True-Born Englishman. Parti. Line 1. RICHARD GIFFORD. 1725-1807. VERSE ERSE sweetens toil, however rude the sound; All at her work the village maiden sings, Nor, while she turns the giddy wheel around, Revolves the sad vicissitudes of things. ROGER DE BUSSY, Comte de Rabutin, Epistle 33, Book 1. † See Proverbs, page 391. |