VIRGIL IN LONDON;

OR,

TOWN ECLOGUES.

TO WHICH ARE ADDED,

IMITATIONS OF HORACE.

FIRST PRINTED IN THE YEAR 1814.

THIRD EDITION,

VIRGIL IN LONDON;

OR,

TOWN ECLOGUES.

INTRODUCTORY DIALOGUE.

***** LADY

AND AUTHOR.

Lady. What! Virgil in London?-'will never

go down

He'll meet but a sorry reception in town;
His manners are coarse, and his language, you know
(As Dryden translates), is exceedingly low;
An old fashion'd poet, whose obsolete rhymes
Will ne'er suit the taste of these whimsical times ;
Unlike Thomas Little, all pathos and passion,
A Bard, that, I'm sure, will be always in fashion !
But what hieroglyphics are these that I see ?-
Lord F with a dash, and the Countess of D-,
No scandal, I hope.-
Author.

Not a stroke of ill-nature, | All sober hilarity, good-humour'd satire;

My Muse, no prim quakeress, straight, and tight

lac'd Will, I hope, prove a nymph to your Ladyship's

taste.

Lady. But why thus confine your poetical rage? Give scope

to
your

talents, and write for the stage; 'Tis a second-hand task o'er the classics to pore, And Virgil has had his translators before. Author. The Stage !—'twere in vain for your

poet to try, No half-witted melo-dramatist am I.

Lady. Write a poem in Erse-
Author.

And provoke the Reviews! What! rival the chaste Caledonian Muse ?

Ludy. Then conjure up Spirits, and boldly

advance A champion for fame in the field of Romance; Try Politics—they've been the fashion of late!Turn critic-but ne'er condescend to translate.

Author. Though pedants may rail, though the

learned may frown, Still Virgil shall make his appearance in town. A masquerade, pic-nic, a grand city ball,