Page:The Rosciad - Churchill (1761, 2nd edition).djvu/28

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24
THE ROSCIAD.
The Jealous Wife!———On that thy trophies raise,
Inferior only to the Author's praise.

From D–bl–n, fam'd in legends of romance 535
For mighty magic of enchanted lance,
With which her heroes arm'd victorious prove,
And, like a flood, rush o'er the land of Love;
M–ss–p and B–r–y came.—Names ne'er design'd
By Fate in the same sentence to be join'd. 540

Rais'd by the breath of popular acclaim,
They mounted to the pinnacle of Fame:
There the weak brain, made giddy with the height,
Spur'd on the rival chiefs to mortal fight.
Thus sportive boys, around some bason's brim, 545
Behold the pipe-drawn bladders circling swim;
But if, from lungs more potent, there arise
Two bubbles of a more than common size,
Eager for honour, they for fight prepare,
Bubble meets bubble, and both sink to air. 550

M–ss–p, attach'd to military plan,
Still kept his eye fix'd on his right-hand man:
Whilst the mouth measures words with seeming skill,
The right hand labours, and the left lies still.
For he resolv'd on scripture-grounds to go, 555
What the right doth, the left hand shall not know.