Not so her gracious,graceful,gracelessGrace, | And much was talk'd on all sides on that The full-grown Hebe of Fitz-Fulke, whose head; mind, But Juan, when cross-question'd on the vision, Which some supposed (though he had not avow'd it) Had stirr'd him,answer'd in a way to cloud it. By which Lord Henry's good taste would | And knew no better in her immorality go forth in Than to wax white-for blushes are for Its glory, through all ages shining sunny, quality. For Gothic daring shown in English money. But county contests cost him rather dearer, | Sooner "come place into the civil list Had English influence, in the self-same The same self-interest, with a different -he Till duly disappointed or dismiss'd: The country would have far more cause to He was as independent—ay, much more— As common soldiers, or a common-Shore, All this (save the last stanza) Henry said, For all of us have either heard or read He added modestly, when rebels rail'd), molish'd. He was "free to confess"-(whence comes He would not tread a factious path to praise, Heaven, and his friends, knew that private Had ever been his sole and whole ambition; When demagogues would with a butcher's Cut through and through (oh! damnable sung The Gordian or the Geordi-an knot, whose There were some hunters bold, and cour incision!) sers keen, Have tied together Commons, Lords, and Whose hounds ne'er err'd, nor grey-hounds Kings. deign'd to lurch; Some deadly shots too, Septembrizers, seen, From those who have few resources of screen. There were some massy members of the church, Takers of tithes, and makers of good matches, And several who sung fewer psalms than catches. There were some country-wags too, and To gaze, instead of pavement, upon grass, I knew him in his livelier London-days, ways, Who would suppose thy gifts sometimes obdurate?) Gave him, to lay the devil who looks o'er Lincoln, A fat fen vicarage, and nought to think on. His jokes were sermons, and his sermons jokes; But both were thrown away amongst the fens, For wit hath no great friend in aguish folks. No longer ready ears and short-hand pens Imbibed the gay bon-mot, or happy hoax: The poor priest was reduced to common sense, Or to coarse efforts very loud and long, To hammer a hoarse laugh from the thick throng. There is a difference, says the song, "between As between English beef and Spartan broth - But of all Nature's discrepancies, none Upon the whole is greater than the difference Beheld between the country and the town, Of which the latter merits every preference And only think, or act, or feel with reference To some small plan of interest or ambitionBoth which are limited to no condition. Of two things how (the question rather odd is) Such bodies could have souls, or souls such bodies. But what confused him more than smile or stare From all the 'squires and 'squiresses around, Though this was most expedient on the whole, And usual-Juan, when he cast a glance (Betraying only now and then her soul Even in the country circle's narrow bound-So well she acted, all and every part (For little things upon my Lord's estate Were good small-talk for others still less great)— Was, that he caught Aurora's eye on his A strong external motive; and in this Twas a mere quiet smile of contemplation, Since he had gain'd at least her observation, senses By turns-with that vivacious versatility, Which many people take for want of heart. They err-'tis merely what is call'd mobility, A thing of temperament and not of årt, Though seeming so, from its supposed facility; And false-though true; for surely they're sincerest, Who are strongly acted on by what is nearest. By last night's ghost been driven from their The poets of arithmetic are they Who,though they prove not two and two to be Five, as they would do in a modest way, Have plainly made it out that four are three, Judging by what they take, and what they pay. The Sinking-Fund's unfathomable sea, That most unliquidating liquid, leaves The debt unsunk, yet sinks all it receives. While Adeline dispensed her airs and graces, The fair Fitz-Fulke seem'd very much at ease; Though too well bred to quiz men to their faces, Her laughing blue eyes with a glance could seize The ridicules of people in all placesThat honey of your fashionable beesAnd store it up for mischievous enjoyment; And this at present was her kind employment. However, the day closed, as days must close; The evening also waned-and coffee came. |