Page:Trivia (John Gay) to which is added London (Samuel Johnson) (1809).djvu/79

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'Studious to please, and ready to submit,
The subtle Gaul was born a parasite:
Still to his int'rest true, where’er he goes,
Wit, brav'ry, worth, his lavish tongue bestows;
In ev'ry face a thousand graces shine,
From ev'ry tongue flows harmony divine.
These arts in vain our rugged natives try,
Strain out, with fault'ring diffidence, a lie,
And gain a kick for awkward flattery.
'Besides, with justice, this discerning age
Admires their wond'rous talents for the stage.—
Well may they venture on the mimic’s art,
Who play from morn to night a borrow'd part;
Practis'd their master’s notions to embrace;
Repeat his maxims, and reflect his face;
With ev'ry wild absurdity comply,
And view each object with another’s eye:
To shake with laughter e'er the jest they hear,
To pour at will the counterfeited tear;
And as their patron hints the cold or heat,
To shake in dog-days, in December sweat.