The Works of the British Poets: With Lives of the Authors, Volume 9

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Mitchell, Ames, and White, 1819

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Page 15 - Or Cerberus himself pronounce A leash of languages at once. This he as volubly would vent As if his stock would ne'er be spent : And truly to support that charge, He had supplies as vast and large; For he could coin or counterfeit New words, with little or no wit; Words so debas'd and hard, no stone Was hard enough to touch them on : And when with hasty noise he spoke 'em, The ignorant for current took 'em...
Page 25 - We leave it, and to' the purpose come. His puissant sword unto his side, Near his undaunted heart, was tied, With basket-hilt that would hold broth, And serve for fight and dinner both ; In it he melted lead for bullets To shoot at foes, and sometimes pullets, To whom he bore so fell a grutch, He ne'er gave quarter to
Page 186 - Quoth RALPH, Not far from hence doth dwell A cunning man, hight SIDROPHEL, That deals in destiny's dark counsels, And sage opinions of the Moon sells; To whom all people, far and near, On deep importances repair; When brass and pewter hap to stray, And linen slinks out of the way; When geese and pullen are seduc'd, And sows of sucking-pigs are chows'd; When cattle feel indisposition, And need th' opinion of physician; When murrain reigns in hogs or sheep.
Page 29 - twas worth ; But as he got it freely, so He spent it frank and freely too : For saints themselves will sometimes be, Of gifts that cost them nothing, free, By means of this, with hem and cough, Prolongers to...
Page 16 - In mathematics he was greater Than Tycho Brahe" or Erra Pater ; For he, by geometric scale, Could take the size of pots of ale ; Resolve by sines and tangents, straight, If bread or butter wanted weight ; And wisely tell what hour o' th' day The clock does strike, by Algebra.
Page 55 - For he was of that noble trade That demi-gods and heroes made, Slaughter and knocking on the head, The trade to which they all were bred ; And is, like others, glorious when...
Page 167 - Sent to our elders an envoy, Complaining sorely of the breach Of league, held forth by brother Patch, Against the articles in force Between both churches, his and ours ; For which he crav'd the saints to render Into his hands, or hang th' offender : But they maturely having weigh'd, They had no more but him o...
Page 190 - But as a dog that turns the spit Bestirs himself, and plies his feet To climb the wheel, but all in vain, His own weight brings him down again: And still he's in the self-same place Where at his setting out he was...
Page 13 - tis known he could speak Greek As naturally as pigs squeak; That Latin was no more difficile, Than to a blackbird 'tis to whistle...
Page 154 - The sun had long since in the lap Of Thetis taken out his nap, And like a lobster boil'd, the morn From black to red began to turn."* The Imagination modifies images, and gives unity to variety; it sees all things in one, il piu nell

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