TO CONGRESS.

521

A taste for famine, fire, and slaughter.

Then came the Doctor, 1 for our ease,

With E —n— ns, Ch—th—ms, H—ivk—e— s,

And other deadly maladies.

When each, in turn, had run their rigs,

Necessity brought in the Whigs: 2And oh, I blush, I blush to say,

When these, in turn, were put to flight, too,

Illustrious T—mp—e flew away

With lots of pens he had no right to ! 3In short, what will not mortal man do? 4

And now, that — strife and bloodshed past —

We’ve done on earth what harm we can do,

We gravely take to heav’n at last; 5And think its favouring smile to purchase(Oh Lord, good Lord! by ■— building churches!)

No. 4.

BOB GREGS ON.

POET LAUREATE OP THE FANCY.

‘‘For hitting and getting away (says the elegant Author of Eoxiana} Richmondis distinguished; and the brave Molineitx keeps a strong hold in the circle of boxers,as a pugilist of the first class; while the Champion of England stands unrivalledfor his punishment, game, and milling on the retreat! — but, notwithstanding theabove variety of qualifications, it has been reserved for Bob Gregson, alone, fromhis union of pugilism and poetry , to recount the deeds of his Brethren of the Fistin heroic verse, like the bards of old, sounding the praises of their warlike cham-pions.” The same author also adds, that “although not possessing the tersenessand orginality of Dryden, or the musical cadence and correctness of Pope , yet stillBob has entered into his peculiar subject with a characteristic energy and appositespirit.” Vol. 1. p. 357.

_ This high praise of Mr. Gregson’s talents is fully borne out by the specimenwhich his eulogist has given, page 358 — a very spirited Chaunt , or Nemeanode, entitled “British Lady and Black Millers. !’

The connexion between poetical and pugnacious propensities seems to havebeen ingeniously adumbrated by the ancients, in the how with which they armedApollo:

( b;W :’o yaQ y.L't. TO f* OS entT^snerai y.cxi AOlJH.

Callimach, Hymn . in Apollin . v. 44.

The same mythological bard informs us that, when Minerva bestowed the giftof inspiration upon Tiresias , she also made him a present of a large cudgel;

Jmoca y.ai MEI’A BAKTPON:

another evident intimation of the congeniality supposed to exist between the exer-cises of the Imagination and those of The Fancy. To no one at the present dayis the double wreath more justly due than to Mr. Bob Gregson. In addition tohis numerous original productions , he has condescended to give imitations of someof our living poets — particularly of Lord Byron and Mr. Moore; and the amatorystyle of the latter gentleman has been caught, with peculiar felicity, in the follow-ing lines, which were addressed some years ago, to Miss Grace Maddox, a youngLady of pugilistic celebrity, of whom I have already made honourable mention inthe Preface.

1 Post -

-macies, et nova febrium

Terris incubit cohors.

2 -tarda necessitas

Lethi corripuit gradual.

3 Expertus vacuum Daedalus aeraJPennis non homini datis.

. Inis allusion to the 1200?. worth of stationary, which his Lordship ordered, when on thepoint of vacating his place, is particularly happy. Ed.

4 JVil mortalibus arduura est.

5 Coeltun ipsum petimus stultitia.

i