Page:Trivia (John Gay) to which is added London (Samuel Johnson) (1809).djvu/60

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No Spanish jealousies thy lanes infest,
Nor Roman vengeance stabs th' unwary breast:
Here Tyranny ne'er lifts her purple hand,
But Liberty and Justice guard the land:150
No bravoes here profess the bloody trade,
Nor is the church the murd’rer's refuge made.
Let not the chairman, with assuming stride,
Press near the wall, and rudely thrust thy side:
The laws have set him bounds; his servile feet155
Should ne'er encroach where posts defend the street.
Yet who the footman's arrogance can quell
Whose flambeau gilds the sashes of Pall-Mall,
When in long rank a train of torches flame,
To light the midnight visits of the dame?160
Others, perhaps, by happier guidance led,
May where the chairman rests with safety tread:
Whene'er I pass, their poles, unseen below,
Make my knee tremble with the jarring blow.
If wheels bar up the road where streets are cross'd,
With gentle words the coachman's ear accost:166
He ne'er the threat or harsh command obeys,
But with contempt the spatter'd shoe surveys.