Then Rhyme, with bells upon her hands and toes, And nimble Nonsense cackling as she goes! Thus aided, boldly is the strain begun, And ready lines like loosen'd sluices run; The syllables rush scamp'ring into rhyme! Meanwhile, upon the canvass of his mind, What Claude-like scenes of gaudy tints refined; Landscapes, supplied with prime Parnassian trees, And virgin sighs inserted in the breeze; Moon, lake, and grove-and all the colours due, In one rich mess rise on the reader's view! How bright it looks! the words how smooth and fine! "Dear me!" cries FLIMSY," can such strains be mine?" Enough :-the pen is wiped, the piece complete, And, like a twelfth-cake, figured, spruce, and sweet; Then serv'd up to the public's sated eye,— The stupid praise—but all refuse to buy! Still unabash'd, the BARD retires to write, With desp❜rate fury, for his own delight. Then comes your drowsy, dull, afflicting bore, Infused with all the verse he's read before: With many a long and uncongenial strain, So from the roof-tops, when the sun is felt, Unmoved by genius, whose warm flames inspire, And o'er the page exhale a mental fire, D With graceless toil he plies his stubborn art, And writes too faultless to awake the heart; Obtusely chaste, and so correct indeed, Our heads grow sleepy as we try to read ; Till tired and sicken'd with the languid stuff, We curse the poet, and exclaim, "Enough!" ARGUMENTUM. PRINCE PUFF-manuscript treasury-Puff-proceedings-specimens of Puffs-Puffs irresistible—their impression on Fashionables -Puff monopoly unattainable-rivals-multitude of authorsqualifications of an ephemeral book-maker-glance at our chief Puff-fed authors and works-reminiscents, &c.-cooks and quacks -Cd's. Address to Puffers-general-freedom of the press-critics par metier, alias "THE WES"-a genuine critic-certain quacksorigin of Puffery-Puff-bought fame-the man who wins his laurels by desert—conclusion. D 2 |