REBELLION IN BATH.

CANTO I.

ARMS, and the feuds I sing', of ladies fair:
Of females' wigs dethron'd; dishevell❜d hair;
Rent muslins; laces torn; eyes flashing fire;

Roug'd cheeks, more red with rage, and such "chimæras dire."

Descend, then,

66

Sisters of the sacred well""

Who, things past, present, and to come can tell 3;

• Milton. This quotation from a brother-poet, is applied to the tutelary genii of the hot springs; which may worthily be denominated sacred, from their oft-experienced beneficial influence on the gouty limbs of those numerous venerable sons of the church, who have had successful recourse to their appetite-restoring and vigour-giving waters.

The language and imagery of the ancients seem to have been familiar to

B

My pen aculeate, and dilute mine ink,
Refresh my memory, and bid me think,
Whilst, in heroic numbers, I rehearse
Themes "unattempted yet in prose or verse1."

Now, had that "wand'ring knight" of heav'n, the Sun, His glittering, annual ramble nearly run;

And eke the Moon, bedeck'd with borrow'd light,
Brought back November's celebrated night;
That night by Britons ne'er to be forgot,

Big with Guy Fawkes's diabolic plot,

Which, but for royal wisdom', quick had hurl'd
King, lords, and commons into t' other world;

my

uncle's mind.

All his associations were connected with classical lore; to which circumstance may be attributed the numerous imitations in the following poem, of passages in the best writers of antiquity.

• Milton. Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius ante

Trita solo.

LUCRETIUS.

› Contemporary authors are unanimous in attributing the complete developement of this dark-lanthern business to the sharp-sighted sagacity of James, who excelled his court in penetration, as much as he did the convocation in theology:

Micat inter omnes

Julium sidus, velut inter ignes
Luna minores.

Or sent the goodly company on high,

Like bladders, blown through pipe by gamesome boy, And left St. James's, and St. Stephen's too,

A prey to Antichrist's detested crew;—

Now, had the chimes of Paul and Peter's steeple
Proclaim'd the hour of bed to vulgar people;

And summon'd, by the self-same harmony,

The better sort of folk to early tea:

Now, had each crescent, street, parade, and square, "call chair;"

Long echoed to the noisy cry,

Whilst many a close sedan, convey'd its freight
Of naked charms, to RAMROD's room of state",

How wisely was it ordained that a form of public thanksgiving should be annually observed, for the preservation to his subjects, of so much acuteness, erudition, and science, blended with equal sincerity, paternal affection, and patriotic attachment to his people!!!

The abbey-church of Bath is dedicated to these two saints. It is a beautiful, elegant, and airy structure, built in the reigns of Henry VII. and VIII. and said to be the last specimen of Gothic ecclesiastical architecture in the kingdom. The chimes play at the hours of one, five, and nine.Editor.

7 The Upper-rooms. See Bath Characters, 3d Edition, first dialogue. The frequent references in the following poem to this very entertaining work of my uncle's, will be henceforth pointed out under the initials B. C. -Editor.

My pen aculeate, and dilute mine ink,
Refresh my memory, and bid me think,
Whilst, in heroic numbers, I rehearse
Themes "unattempted yet in prose or verse*.”

Now, had that "wand'ring knight" of heav'n, the Sun, His glittering, annual ramble nearly run;

And eke the Moon, bedeck'd with borrow'd light,
Brought back November's celebrated night;
That night by Britons ne'er to be forgot,

Big with Guy Fawkes's diabolic plot,

Which, but for royal wisdom', quick had hurl'd
King, lords, and commons into ť other world;

my uncle's mind.

All his associations were connected with classical lore; to which circumstance may be attributed the numerous imitations in the following poem, of passages in the best writers of antiquity.

• Milton. Avia Pieridum peragro loca, nullius ante

Trita solo.

LUCRETIUS.

› Contemporary authors are unanimous in attributing the complete developement of this dark-lanthern business to the sharp-sighted sagacity of James, who excelled his court in penetration, as much as he did the convocation in theology:

Micat inter omnes

Julium sidus, velut inter ignes

Luna minores.

Or sent the goodly company on high,

Like bladders, blown through pipe by gamesome boy, And left St. James's, and St. Stephen's too,

A prey to Antichrist's detested crew;

Now, had the chimes of Paul and Peter's steeple
Proclaim'd the hour of bed to vulgar people;

And summon'd, by the self-same harmony,

The better sort of folk to early tea:

Now, had each crescent, street, parade, and square, "call chair;"

Long echoed to the noisy cry,

Whilst many a close sedan, convey'd its freight
Of naked charms, to RAMROD's room of state',

How wisely was it ordained that a form of public thanksgiving should be annually observed, for the preservation to his subjects, of so much acuteness, erudition, and science, blended with equal sincerity, paternal affection, and patriotic attachment to his people!!!