And show this queen of cities, that so fair,
May yet be foul ; so witty, yet not wise;
It is not seemly, nor of good report,
That she is slack in discipline ; more prompt
To avenge than to prevent the breach of law :
That she is rigid in denouncing death
On petty robbers, and indulges life,
And liberty, and ofttimes honour too,
To peculators of the public gold :
That thieves at home must hang; but he that puts
Into his overgorg'd and bloated purse
The wealth of Indian provinces, escapes.
Nor is it well, nor can it come to good,
That, through profane and infidel contempt
Of holy writ, she has presum'd t' annul
And abrogaté, as roundly as she may,
The total ordinance and will of God;
Advancing Fashion to the post of Truth,
And centring all authority in modes
And customs of her own, till sabbath rites
Have dwindled into unrespected forms,
And knees and hassocks are well-nigh divorc'd.

God made the country, and man made the town.
What wonder then that health and virtue, gifts
That can alone make sweet the bitter draught
That life holds out to all, should most abound
And least be threaten'd in the fields and groves ?
Possess ye, therefore, ye who, borne about
In chariots and sedans, know no fatigue
But that of idleness, and taste no scenes
But such as art contrives, possess ye still
Your element, there only can ye shine ;
There only minds like yours can do no harm.
Our groves were planted to console at noon
The pensive wand'rer in their shades.

At eve The moom beam, sliding softly in between

The sleeping leaves, is all the light they wish,
Birds warbling all the music. We can spare
The splendour of your lamps ; they but eclipse
Our softer satellite. Your songs confound
Our more harmonious notes : the thrush departs
Scar’d, and th’ offended nightingale is mute.
There is a publick mischief in your mirth;
It plagues your country. Folly such as yours,
Graed with a sword, and worthier of a fan,
Has made, what enemies could ne'er have done,
Our arch of empire, steadfast but for you,
A mutilated structure soon to fall.

THE TIME-PIECE.

ARGUMENT OF THE SECOND BOOK. Reflections suggested by the conclusion of the former

book-Peace among the nations recommended on the ground of their common fellowship in sorrowProdigies enumerated-Sicilian earthquakes-Man rendered obnoxious to these calamities by sin God the agent in them-The philosophy that stops at secondary causes reproved-Our own late miscarriages accounted for-Satirical notice taken of our trips to Fontainbleau-But the pulpit, not satire, the proper engine of reformation—The Reverend Advertiser of engraved sermons-Petit-maitre parson-The good preacher-Picture of a theatrical clerical coxcomb-Story-tellers and jesters in the pulpit reproved-Apostrophe to popular applauseRetailers of ancient philosophy expostulated withSum of the whole matter Effects of sacerdotal mis. management on the laity-Their folly and extrav. agance-The mischiefs of profusion-Profusion itself with all its consequent evils, ascribed, as to its principal cause, to the want of discipline in the universities.