Miscellaneous Poems. 167

VII.

With thee in private modest Dulness lies,

And in thy bosom lurks in Thought’s disguise ;

Thou varnilher of Fools, and cheat of all the Wife!

VIII.

Yet thy indulgence is by both confest ;

Folly by thee lies sleeping in the breast,

And ’tis in thee at last that Wisdom seeks for rest

IX.

Silence, the knave’s repute, the whore’s good name,The only honour of the wishing dame ;

The very want of tongue makes thee a kind of Fame

X.

But could’st thou seize some tongues that now are free,How Church and State should be oblig’d to thee ?At Senate, and at Bar, how welcome would’st thou be ?

XI.

Yet speech ev’n there, submissively withdrawsFrom rights of subjects, and the poor man’s cause:Then pompous Silence reigns, and stills the noisy Laws.

XII.

Past services of friends, good deeds of foes,

What Fav’rites gain, and what the Nation owes,

Fly the forgetful world, and in thy arms repose.

XIII.

The country wit, religion of the town,

The courtier’s learning, policy o’th’ gown,

Are best by thee express’d; and shine in thee alone.

IV.

The parson’s cant, the lawyer’s sophistry,

Lord’s quibble, critic’s jest ; all end in thee,

All rest in peace at last, and sleep eternally.

F I N 1 S.