Walker! our hat-nor more be deign'd to fay,
But, ftern as Ajax' fpectre, ftrode away.

275

280

In flow'd at once a gay embroidered race,
And tittering pufh'd the Pedants off the place:
Some would have spoken, but the voice was drown'd
By the French horn, or by the opening hound.
The first came forwards, with as easy mien,
As if he faw St. James's and the Queen.
When thus th' attendant Orator begun,
Receive, great Emprefs? thy accomplish'd Son:
Thine from the birth, and facred from the rod,
A dauntless infant! never fcar'd with God.
The Sire faw, one by one, his Virtues wake:
The Mother begg'd the bleffing of a Rake.

REMARKS.

295

300

Thou gav't that Ripenefs, which so foon began,
And ceas'd fo foon, he ne'er was Boy, nor Man.
Through School and College, thy kind cloud o'ercaft,
Safe and unfeen the young Æneas past:
290
Thence bursting glorious, all at once let down,
Stunn'd with his giddy Larum half the town.
Intrepid then, o'er feas and land's he flew :
Europe he faw, and Europe faw him too.
There all thy gifts and graces we display,
Thou, only thou, directing all our way:
To where the Seine, obfequious as the runs,
Pours at Great Bourbon's feet her filken fons;
285 Or Tyber, now no longer Roman, rolls,
Vain of Italian arts, Italian Souls:
To happy Convents, bufom`d deep in vines,
Where flumber Aobots, purple as their wines:
To ifles of Fragrance, lily-filver'd vales,
Diffufing languor in the panting gales:
To lands of finging, or of dancing flaves,
Love-whifpering woods, and lute-refounding waves.
But chief her fhrine where naked Venus keeps,
And Cupids ride the Lion of the Deeps,
Where, eas'd of fleets, the Adriatic main
Wafts the fmooth. Eunuch and enamour'd fwain. 310
Led by my hand, he faunter'd Europe round,
And gather'd every Vice on Chriftian ground;
Saw every Court, heard every King declare
His royal Senfe, of Operas or the Fair;
The Stews and Palace equally explor'd,
tigu'd with glory, and with spirit whor'd ;
Try'd all hors d'œuvres, all liqueurs defin'd,
Judicious drank, and greatly-daring din'd;

Gold and Silver are neceffary trimming to denote the dreís of a perion of rank, and the Governor must be fuppofed fo in foreign countries, to be admitted into courts and other places of fair reception. But how comes Ariftarchus to know at fight that this Governor came from France? Know? Why, by the laced coat. SCRIBL. Ibid. Whore, Pupil, and lac'd Governor] Some Critics have objected to the order here, being of opi nion that the Governor fhould have the precedence before the Whore, if not before the Pupil. But were he fo placed, it might be thought to infinuate that the Governor led the Pupil to the Whore; and were the Pupil placed first, he might be fuppofed to lead the Governor to her. But our impartial Poet, as he is drawing their picture, represents them in the order in which they are generally feen; namely, the Pupil between the Whore and the Governor; but placeth the Whore first, as fhe ufually governs both the other.

Ver. 280. As if he faw St. James's] Reflecting on the difrefpectful and indecent Behaviour of feveral forward young perfons in the prefence, fo offenfive to all ferious men, and to none more than the good Scriblerus.

Ver. 281. th' attendant Orator] The Governor abovefaid. The Poet gives him no particular name; being unwilling, I profume, to offend or to do injuftice to any, by celebrating one only with whom this character agrees, in preference to fo many who equally deferve it.

I

REMARKS.

305

315

fon-might pafs for a wit; in which opinion he fortifies himself by ver. 316. where the Orator, fpeaking of his pupil, fays, that he

Intrigued with glory, and with spirit whor'd,

which feems to infinuate that her prayer was heard. Here the good Scholiaft, as, indeed, every where elfe, lays open the very foul of modern criticism, while he makes his own ignorance of a poetical expreffion hold open the door to much erudition and learned conSCRIBL.jecture: the bleffing of a rake fignifying no more than that he might be a Rake; the effects of a thing for the thing itself, a common figure. The careful mother only wished her fon might be a Rake, as well knowing that its attendant Blessings would fellow of course.

equal the pencil of Rubens.

Ver. 284. A dauntless infant!,never fcar'd with God] i. e. Brought up in the enlarged principles of modern Education; whofe great point is, to keep the infant mind free from the prejudices of opinion, and the growing fpirit unbroken by terrifying Names, Amongst the happy confequences of this reformed Ver. 307. But chief, &c.] Thefe two lines, in difcipline, it is not the leaft, that we have never after-their force of imagery and colouring, emulate and wards any occafion for the Priest, whefe trade, as a modern wit informs us, is only to finish what the nurse began. SCRIBL. Ver. 286-the bleffing of a Rake.] Scriblerus is here much at a lofs to find out what this bleffing fhould be. He is fometimes tempted to imagine it might be the marrying a great fortune; but this, again, for the vulgarity of it, he rejects, as fomething uncommon feemed to be prayed for. And after many ftrange Conceits, not at all to the honour of the fair fex, he at length rests in this, that it was, that her

Ver: 308. And Cupids ride the Lion of the Deeps ;] The winged Lion, the Arms of Venice. This Republic, heretofore the most confiderable in Europe, for her naval Force and the extent of her Commerce; now illuftrious for her Carnivals.

Ver. 318. greatly-daring din'd;] It being indeed no fmall rifque to eat through thofe extraordinary compofitions, whofe difguifed ingredients are generally unknown to the guests, and highly inflammatory and unwholefome.

Dropt the dull lumber of the Latin store,

Soft, as the wily Fox is feen to creepy

Spoil'd his own language, and acquir'd no more; 320 Where bafk on funny banks the fimple sheep,

All Claffic learning loft on Claffic ground;
And last turn'd Air, the Echo of a Sound;
See now, half cur'd, and perfectly well-bred,
With nothing but a Solo in his head
As much Eftate, and Principle, and Wit,

As Janfen, Fleetwood, Cibber shall think fit;

Stol'n from a Duel, follow'd by a Nun,
And, if a Borough chufe him, not undone !
See, to my country happy I restore

325

351

Walk round and round, now prying here, now there,
So he; but pious, whisper'd first his prayer.

Grant, gracious Goddefs! grant me ftill to cheat,
O may thy cloud ftill cover the deceit!

Thy choicer mifts on this affembly fhed,
But pour them thickest on the noble head.
So fhall each youth, affifted by our eyes,
See other Cæfars, other Homers rife ;
Through twilight ages hunt th' Athenian fowl,

This glorious Youth, and add one Venus more. 330 Which Chalcis Gods, and mortals call an Owl,
Her too receive (for her my foul adores),
So may the fons of fons of fons of whores

Prop thine, O Emprefs! like each neighbour
Throne,

And make a long Pofterity thy own.
Pleas'd, the accepts the Hero and the Dame,
Wraps in her Veil, and frees from sense or shame.
Then look'd, and faw a lazy, lolling fort,

Now fee an Attys, now a Cecrops clear,
Nay, Mahomet! the Pigeon at thine ear;
Be rich in ancient brafs, though not in gold,
And keep his Lares, though his house be fold;
To headlefs Phæbe his fair bride poftpone,
Honour a Syrian Prince above his own;
Lord of an Orho, if I vouch it true;

356

366

365

335

Bleft in one Niger, till he knows of two.

370

But Annius, crafty Seer, with ebon wand,

And well-diffembled emerald on his hand,
Falfe as his Gems, and canker'd as his Coins,
Came, cramm'd with capon, from where Pollio dines.

REMARKS.

nity, but our Annius had a more fubftantial motive.

Ver. 363. Attys and Cecrops] The firft Kings of Athens, of whom it is hard to fuppofe any Coins are extant; but not fo improbable as what follows, that there should be any of Mahomet, who forbad all Images; and the ftory of whofe Pigeon was a monkifh fable. Nevertheless one of thefe Anniufes made a counterfeit medal of that impoftor, now in the col

Ver. 324. With nothing but a Solo in his head ;] With nothing but a Solo? Why, if it be a Solo, how hould there be any thing else? Palpable tautology!lection of a learned Nobleman. Read boldly an Opera, which is enough of confcience for fuch a head as has loft all its Latin. BENTL. Ver. 326. Janfen, Fleetwood, Cibber] Three very eminent perfons, all Managers of Plays; who, though not Governors by profeffion, had each in his way, concerned themselves in the Education of Youth; and regulated their Wits, their Morals, or their Finances, at that Period of their age which is the most important, their entrance into the polite world. Of the laft of these, and his Talents for this end, fee Book i. ver. 199, &c.

Ver. 371. Mummius] This name is not merely an allufion to the Mummius he was fo fond of, but probably referred to the Roman General of that name, who burned Corinth, and committed the curious Statues to the Captain of a Ship, affuring him, " that

Ver. 331. Her too receive, &c.] This confirms what the learned Scriblerus advanced in his Note on ver. 272, that the Governor, as well as the Pupil, had a particular interest in this lady.

Ver. 341. Thee too, my Paridel!] The Poet feems to speak of this young gentleman with great affection. The name is taken from Spenfer, who gives it to a wandering Courtly Squire, that travelled about for the fame reafon for which many young Squires are now fond of travelling, and especially to Paris.

Ver. 347. Annius,] The name taken from Annius the Monk of Viterbo, famous for many impofitians and Forgeries of ancient manufcripts and infcriptions, which he was prompted to by mere VaVah. VI

if any were loft or broken, he should procure others "to be made in their ftead;" by which it theuld feem (whatever may be pretended) that Mummius was no Virtuofo.

Ibid.-Fool renown'd] A compound epithet in the Greek manner, renown'd by fools, or renowned for making fools.

Ver. 372. Cheops] A King of Egypt whofe body was certainly to be known, as being buried alone in his Pyramid, and is therefore more genuine than any of the Cleopatras. This Royal Mummy, being itolen by a wild Arab, was purchased by the Conful of Alexandria, and tranfmitted to the Museum of Mummius; for proof of which he brings a paffage in Sandys's Travels, where that accurate and learned Voyager affures us that he faw the Sepulchre empty, which agrees exactly (faith he) with the time of the theft above mentioned. But he omits to obferve that Herodotus tells the fame thing of it in his time.

Ver. 375. Speak' they of Syrian Princes? &c.] 39 The

380

385

True, he had wit, to make their value rife;
From foolish Grecks to fteal them, was as wife:
More glorious yet, from barbarous hands to keep,
When Sallee Rovers chac'd him on the deep.
Then taught by Hermes, and divinely bold,
Down his own throat he rifqu'd the Grecian Gold,
Receiv'd each Demi-God, with pious care,
Deep in his Entrails-I rever'd them there,
I bought them, fhrouded in that living fhrine,
And, at their fecond birth, they iffue mine.
Witsefs great Ammon! by whofe horns I fwore,
(Reply'd foft Annius) this our paunch before
Still bears them, faithful; and that thus I eat,
Is to refund the Medals with the meat.
To prove me, Goddefs! clear of all defign,
Bid me with Pollio fup, as well as dine:
There all the Learn'd fhall at the labour ftand,
And Douglas lend his foft, obftetric hand.

390

The Goddefs fmiling feem'd to give confent; 395
So back to Pollio, hand in hand, they went.

Then thick as Locufts blackening all the ground,
A tribe, with weeds and thells fantaftie crown'd,
Each with fome wondrous gift approach'd the Power,
A Neft, a Toad, a Fungus, or a Flower, 400
But far the foremost, too, with carnest zeal,
And afpect ardent, to the Throne appeal.
The fift thus open'd: Hear thy fuppliant's call,
Great Queen, and common Mother of us all!

REMARKS.

425

Of all th' enamel'd race, whofe filvery wing, 421
Waves to the tepid Zephyrs of the spring,
Or fwims along the fluid atmosphere,
Once brighteft fhin'd this child of Heat and Air.
I faw, and started from its vernal bower
The rifing game, and chac'd from flower to flower.
It fied, I follow'd now in hope, now pain;
It topt, I ftopt; it mov'd, I mov'd again.
At last it fixt, 'twas on what plant it pleas'd,
And where it fix'd, the beauteous bird I feiz'd: 430
Rofe or Carnation was below my care;
I meddle, Goddefs! only in my sphere.
I tell the naked fact without difguife,
And, to excufe it, need but fhew the prize;
Whofe fpoils this Paper offers to your eye,
Fair ev'n in death! this peerless Butterfly.
My fons! (the answer'd) both have done your
parts:

435

440

445

The frange ftory following, which may be taken for a fiction of the Poet, is justified by a true relation in Spon's Voyages. Vaillant (who wrote the Hiftory of the Syrian Kings as it is to be found on niedals) coming from the Levant, where he had been Live happy both, and long promote our arts. collecting various coins, and being purfued by a But hear a Mother, when the recommends Corfair of Sallee, fwallowed down twenty gold me To your fraternal care our fleeping friends. dals. A fudden Bourafque freed him from the Ro- The common Soul, of Heaven's more frugal make, ver, and he got to land with them in his belly. On Serves but to keep fools pert and knaves awake; his road to Avignon he met two Phyficians, of whom A drowfy Watchman, that juft gives a knock, he demanded afliftance. One advifed Purgations, And breaks our reft, to tell us what's a clock. the other Vomits. In this uncertainty he took nei-Yet by fome object every brain is flirr'd ; ther, but purfued his way to Lyons, where he found his ancient friend the famous Phyfician and And quary Dufour, to whom he related his adventure. Dufour, without ftaying to inquire about the uneafy fymptoms of the burthen he carried, firft afked him, Whether the Medals were of the higher empire? He aflured him they were. Dufour was ravished with the hope of poffeffing fo rare a treasure; he bargained with him on the spot for the molt curious of them, and was to recover them at his own expence. Ver. 387. Witnefs great Ammon!] Jupiter Am-pliment which the Florists ufually pay to Princes and mon is called to witnets, as the father of Alexander, to whom thofe Kings fucceeded in the divifion of the Macedonian Empire, and whofe Horns they wore on their Medals.

'The dull may waken to a Humming-bird;
The mottreclufe, difcreetly open'd, find
Congenial matter in the Cockle kind;
The Mind in Metaphyfics at a lofs,
May wander in a wilderncfs of Mols;
The head that turns at fuperlunar things,
Pois'd with a tail, may steer on Wilkins' wings.

REMARKS.

450

Ver. 409. and nam'd it Caroline:] It is a com

great perfons, to give their names to the most curious Flowers of their railing: Some have been very jealous of vindicating this honour, but none more than that ambitious Gardener, at Hammersmith, who

this infcription, This is My Queen Caroline.

Ver. 394. Douglas] A phyfician of great Learn-eaufed his Favourite to be painted on his Sign, with ing and no lefs Taite; above all, curious in what related to Ilorace, of whom he collected every Edition, Translation, and Comment, to the number of deveral hundred volumes.

Ver. 452. Wilkins' wings] One of the first Projectors of the Royal Society, who, among many enlarged and useful notions, entertained the extravagant

Rous'd at his name, up rofe the bowzy Sire,
And fhook from out his Pipe the feeds of fire;
Then faap'd his box, and ftrok'd his belly down, 495;
Rofy and reverend, though without a Gown,
Bland and familiar to the throne he came,
Led up the Youth, and call'd the Goddess Dame,
From Prieftcraft happily fet free,
460 Lo! every finish'd Son returns to thee:
First flave to Words, then vafal to a Name,
Then dupe to Party; child and man the fame;
Bounded by Nature, narrow'd ftill by Art,

hope of a poffibility to fly to the Moon; which has put fome volatile Geniufes upon making wings for that purpofe.

Ver. 462. When Moral Evidence fhall quite decay, Alluding to a ridiculous and abfurd way of feme Mathematicians, in calculating the gradual decay of Moral Evidence by mathematical proportions: according to which calculation, in about fifty years it will be no longer probable that Julius Cæfar was in Gaul, or died in the Senate Houfe. See Craig's Theologiæ Chriftianæ Principia Mathematica. But as it seems evident, that facts of a thousand years old, for instance, are now as probable, as they were five hundred years ago; it is plain, that if in fify more they quite difappear, it must be owing, not to their Arguments, but to the extraordinary power of our Goddess; for whofe help therefore they have reafon to pray.

Then take them all, oh take them to thy breaft! 551
Thy Magus, Goddefs! fhall perform the rest.

With that, a WIZARD OLD his Cup extends;
Which whofo taftes, forgets his former friends,
Sire, Ancestors, Himfelf. One cafts his eyes
Up to a Star, and like Endymion dies;
A Feather, fhooting from another's head,
Extracts his brain; and Principle is fied;
Loft is his God, his Country, every thing;
And nothing left but Homage to a King!
The vulgar herd turn off to roll with Hogs,
To run with Horfes, or to hunt with Dogs;
But, fad example! never to efe ape
Their Infamy, ftill keep the human shape.
But the, good Goddess, fent to every child
Firm Impudence, or Stupefaction mild;

REMARKS.

And ftrait fucceeded, leaving fhame no room,
Cibberian forehead, or Cimmerian gloom..

535

540

Kind Self-conceit to fome her glafs applies,
Which no one looks in with another's eyes;
But, as the Flatterer or Dependant paint,
520 Beholds himself a Patriot, Chief, or Saint.
On others Interest her gay livery Alings,
Intereft, that waves on Party-colour'd wings:
Turn'd to the Sun, the cafts a thousand dyes,
And, as the turns, the colours fall or rife.
Others the Syrens Sisters warble round,
And empty heads confole with empty found.
No more, alas! the voice of Fame they hear,
The balm of Dulness trickling in their ear.
Great C H**, P**, R **, K *, 545
Why all your Toils? your Sons have learn'd to fing.
How quick Ambition haftes to ridicule !
The Sire is made a Peer, the Son a Fool.

525

Ver. 517. With that a Wizard old, &c.] Here beginneth the celebration of the GREATER MYSTERJES of the Goddefs, which the Poet, in his Invocation, ver. 5. promised to fing.

Ver. 518. forgets his former Friends,] Surely there little needed the force of charms or magic to fet afide an ufelef's Friendship. For of all the accommodations of fashionable life, as there are none more reputable, fo there are none of fo little charge as friendhip. It fills up the void of life with a name of dignity and refpect; and at the fame time is ready to give place to every paffion that offers to difpute pof

feffion with it.

SCRIBL.

Ver. 23, 524. Loft is his God, his CountryAnd nothing left but Homage to a King!] So ftrange as this muft feem to a mere English reader, the famous Monf. de la Bruyere declares it to be the character of every good fubject in a Monarchy: "Where (fays he) there is no fuch thing as love of our Country, the Intereft, the Glory, and Service of the Prince fupply its place." De la Republique, chap. x.

On fome, a Prieft fuccinct in amice white
Attends; all flesh is nothing in his fight!
Beeves, at his touch, at once to jelly turn,
And the huge Boar is fhrunk into an Urn:
The board with fpecious miracles he loads,
Turns Hares to Larks, and Pigeons into Toads.
Another (for in all what one can fhine ?)
Explains the Seve and Verdure of the Vine.

REMARKS,

550

559

they become eafy under any infamy. Each of which fpecies is here fhadowed under Allegorical perfons.

Ver. 532. Cibberian forehead, or Cimmerian gloom.] i. e. She communicates to them of her own Virtue, or of her Royal Colleagues. The Cibberian forehead being to fit them for Self-conceit, Self-intereft, &c. and the Cimmerian gloom, for the Pleafures of Opera, and the Table.

SCRIBL.

Ver. 553. The board with fpecious Miracles he loads, &c.] Scriblerus feems at a lofs in this place. Speciofa miracula (fays he), according to Horace, were the monstrous fables of the Cyclops, Læftrygons, Scylla, &c. What relation have thefe to the Transformation of Hares into Larks, or of Pigeons into Toads? I fhall tell thee. The Læftrygons spitted Men upon Spears, as we do Larks upon Skewers; and the fair Pigeon turned to a Toad, is fimilar to the fair Virgin Scylla ending in a filthy beaft. But here is the difficulty, why Pigeons in fo flocking a shape should be brought to a Table. Hares

Of this duty another celebrated French Author peaks indeed a little more difrefpectfully; which for that reason, we shall not tranflate, but give it in his own words, “L'Amour de la Patrie, le grand motif des prémiers Heros, n'eft plus regardé que comme une Chimere; l'idée du Service du Roi, etendüe jufqu'à l'oubli de tout autre Principe, teint lieu de ce qu'on appelloit autrefois Grandeur d'Ame et * Fidelité." Eoulainvilliers Hift. des Anciens Par-indeed might be out into Larks at a second dreffing, dements de France, &c.

Ver. 528. till keep the human shape.] The effects of the Magus's Cup, by which is allegorized a total corruption of heart, are juft contrary to that of Circe, which only reprefents the fudden plunging into pleasures. Her's therefore, took away the fhape, and let the human mind; his takes away the mind, and leaves the human shape.

Ver. 529. But the, good Goddess, &c.] The only comfort people can receive, must be owing in fome fhape or other to Dulness; which makes fome ftupid, others impudent, gives Self-conceit to fome, upon the Flatteries of their dependants, prefents the falfe colours of Intereft to others, and buffes or amufes the reft with idle Pleafures or Senfuality, till

out of frugality: Yet that feems no probable motive, when we confider the extravagance before mentioned, of diffolving whole Oxen and Boars into a fmall vial of Jelly; nay it is exprefsly faid, that all fleth is nothing in his fight. I have fearched in Apicius, Pliny, and the Feaft of Trimalchio, in vain; I can only refolve it into fome myfterious fuperftitious Rite, as it is faid to be done by a Priest, and foun after called a Sacrifice, attended (as all ancient facrifices were) with Libation and Song.

SCRIBL.

This good Scholiaft, not being acquainied with mo❤ dern Luxury, was ignorant that these were only the miracles of French Cookery, and that particularly Pigeons en crapeau" were a common difh. Ver. 556. Seve and Verdeur] French Terms res