TO THE REV. CH-RL-S OV-RT-N,

CURATE OF ROMALDKIRK.

AUTHOR OF THE POETICAL PORTRAITURE OF THE CHURCH.

1833.

SWEET singer of Romaldkirk, thou who art reckon'd,
By critics Episcopal, David the Second †,
If thus, as a Curate, so lofty your flight,

Only think, in a Rectory, how you would write!
Once fairly inspir'd by the "Tithe-crown'd Apollo,"
(Who beats, I confess it, our lay Phoebus hollow,
Having gotten, besides the old Nine's inspiration,
The Tenth of all eatable things in creation,)
There's nothing, in fact, that a poet like you,
So be-nined and be-tenth'd, couldn't easily do.

* See Edinburgh Review, No. 117.

+ "Your Lordship," says Mr. Ov-rt-n, in the Dedi cation of his Poem to the Bishop of Chester, "has kindly expressed your persuasion that my Muse will always be a Muse of sacred song, and that it will be tuned as David's was.'

6

Round the lips of the sweet-tongued Athenian *

they say,

While yet but a babe in his cradle he lay,

Wild honey-bees swarm'd, as a presage to tell

Of the sweet-flowing words that thence afterwards

fell.

Just so round our Ov-rt-n's cradle, no doubt,
Tenth ducklings and chicks were seen flitting about;
Goose embryos, waiting their doom'd decimation,
Came, shadowing forth his adult destination,
And small, sucking tithe-pigs, in musical droves,
Announc'd the Church poet whom Chester approves.

O Horace! when thou, in thy vision of yore,
Didst dream that a snowy-white plumage came o'er
Thy etherealis'd limbs, stealing downily on,

Till, by Fancy's strong spell, thou wert turn'd to a swant,

Little thought'st thou such fate could a poet befall, Without any effort of fancy, at all;

* Sophocles.

album mutor in alitem Supernè nascunturque læves

Per digitos, humerosque plumæ.

Little thought'st thou the world would in Ov-rt—n

find

A bird, ready-made, somewhat different in kind, But as perfect as Michaelmas' self could produce, By gods yclept anser, by mortals a goose.

SCENE

FROM A PLAY, ACTED AT OXFORD, CALLED

"MATRICULATION."

1834.

[Boy discovered at a table, with the Thirty-Nine Articles before him.-Enter the Rt. Rev. Doctor Ph-llp-ts.]

Doctor P.-THERE, my lad, lie the Articles—(Boy
begins to count them) just thirty-nine-
No occasion to count-you've now only to sign.
At Cambridge, where folks are less High-church

than we,

The whole Nine-and-Thirty are lump'd into Three. Let's run o'er the items;- there's Justification, Predestination, and Supererogation, —

"It appears that when a youth of fifteen goes to be matriculated at Oxford, and is required first to subscribe ThirtyNine Articles of Religious Belief, this only means that he engages himself afterwards to understand what is now above his comprehension; that he expresses no assent at all to what he signs; and that he is (or, ought to be) at full liberty, when he has studied the subject, to withdraw his provisional assent." - Edinburgh Review, No. 120.

Not forgetting Salvation and Creed Athanasian, Till we reach, at last, Queen Bess's Ratification. That's sufficient-now, sign-having read quite enough,

You "believe in the full and true meaning thereof?”

(Boy stares.)

Oh, a mere form of words, to make things smooth and brief,

A commodious and short make-believe of belief,

Which our Church has drawn up, in a form thus

articular,

To keep out, in general, all who're particular.

But what's the boy doing? what! reading all through, And my luncheon fast cooling!—this never will do. Boy (poring over the Articles.)— Here are points -pray, Doctor, what's "Grace of Con

which

gruity?"

Doctor P. (sharply).-You'll find out, young sir, when you've more ingenuity.

At present, by signing, you pledge yourself merely,
Whate'er it may be, to believe it sincerely.
Both in dining and signing we take the same plan,-
First, swallow all down, then digest-as we can.