An epistle to the author of The four farthing candles: By the author of The Rosciad of C-v-nt-G-rd-n.

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- [titlepage]

AN EPISTLE To the AUTHOR of The FOUR FARTHING CANDLES.

SINCE, tho' unknown to mine, or me,

You with my ROSCIAD make so free,

And vent your pointless, senseless spite,

Before your Muse has learn'd to write:

I, in return, my gentle friend,

Will scan your work from end to end;

And shew the critic town at once,

(Whate'er I am) that you're a dunce.

FIRST, to defend a hackney'd thought,

Which forty diff'rent Bards have taught,

Without or pity, or remorse,

You drag poor HORACE in by force,

Whose verse thy ears could never reach,

But thro' the stupid lines of CREECH;

And yet you bring one sentence pat in,

To shew you've got a little Latin,

And tell us, with your usual wit,

(Poeta nascitur, non fit.)

[*] THY mean abuse is next employ'd

On SHIRLEY, COLMAN, CHURCHILL, LLOYD.

Here take some good advice, dull friend,

Abuse not, till you can amend.

And why, because my Muse dar'd raise

Her feeble notes to CHURCHILL's praise,

Must thy prodigious wisdom find;

[†] A refuge only was design'd?

Whilst you to S—T meanly sneak,

And pilf'ring M—'s favour seek:

'Tis true, I said that CHURCHILL's rhimes

Soar'd far beyond these leaden times;

But that nor rose from partial views,

Nor terror of the two Reviews:

To me the bounteous hand of heav'n,

A fairer, happier lot has giv'n;

Should those two giants both unite

Their Critical, and Monthly spite;

Should all the nation with them join,

And, right or wrong, damn ev'ry line,

By lavish fortune frankly grac'd,

I scorn their rage, and spurn their taste;

Yet if a moment, to beguile,

Should SHIRLEY on my numbers smile;

Should tuneful LLOYD, with wit endow'd,

Superior to the common crowd;

Or COLMAN haply condescend

One single sentence to commend;

Should HE, whose manly, nervous song,

With strength and sweetness rolls along;

Whose ev'ry verse with candour flows,

Whose ev'ry thought with spirit glows;

With pleasure find one faultless strain,

I might, indeed, be something vain.

THOU next hast found, with searching eyes,

(Lord! some folks, sure, are mighty wise!)

That times are alter'd since the days,

"When POPE attun'd his deathless Lays [*];"

That stupid, dull, unmeaning head,

No syllable of his e'er read;

For expletives their aid do join,

To lengthen out each feeble line:

Nay, what I think is still more odd,

You write fal-len, and pe-ri-od:

That man that wou'd our ears delight,

Must always fal'n, and period write.

In time, I shall expect to see,

You'll put for HENRY HE-NE-RY.

IF, as thou say'st, my sickly song [*]

In lazy numbers crawl, along,

Sure thou against it should'st not bawl,

Whose song no numbers has at all;

Thy muse, a foul, mishapen elf,

Is rude, and hideous, as thyself:

Thy mortal frame's to me unknown;

I'm speaking of thy mind alone;

Where keen reproaches all resort,

Where biting scandal holds her court;

From whence she throws her pois'nous dart

At ev'ry unprovoking heart.

[*] WHEN common-sense again shall smile

On BRITAIN's long deserted isle,

Thou dulness shalt no longer handle,

Thy fav'rite theme, a Farthing Candle;

Thy similies no longer bring,

Which stink, and vainly strive to sting:

But, leaving all poetic strains

To those whom Heav'n has blest with brains,

Thou shalt thy old employment chuse,

Of sweeping streets, or cleaning shoes.

FINIS.

Notes

*
See page 7, of The Four Farthing Candles.
↵

†
See page 21, of the same.
↵

*
See page 16, of The Four Farthing Candles.
↵

*
See page 21, of The Four Farthing Candles.
↵

*
See page 22, of The Four Farthing Candles.
↵

AN EPISTLE To the AUTHOR of The FOUR FARTHING CANDLES. BY The AUTHOR of The ROSCIAD of C-v-nt-G-rd-n.

—— Diram qui contudit hydram,

Notáque fatali portenta labore subegit,

Comperit invidiam supremo fine domari.

HOR.

LONDON: Printed for the AUTHOR, and sold by J. GRETTON, in Old Bond-Street; and W. NICOLL, in St. Paul's Church-Yard. 1762.

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Title statement

An epistle to the author of The four farthing candles: By the author of The Rosciad of C-v-nt-G-rd-n.

Churchill, Charles, 1731-1764.

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University of Oxford Text Archive
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ID [ota]

http://ota.ox.ac.uk/id/3326

ID [isbn10]

110600325X

ID [isbn13]

9781106003256

ID [TCP]

K000944.000

ID [BIBNO]

CW3310969278

ID [ECLL]

0250401100

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Source

— An epistle to the author of The four farthing candles: By the author of The Rosciad of C-v-nt-G-rd-n., Churchill, Charles, 1731-1764.. 12p. ; 4⁰. London :: printed for the author, and sold by J. Gretton; and W. Nicoll,. 1762.. [The author of The Rosciad of C-v-nt-G-rd-n = Charles Churchill.] [With a half-title.] [Reproduction of original from the Huntington Library.] [English Short Title Catalog, ESTCN1512.] [Electronic data. Farmington Hills, Mich. : Thomson Gale, 2003. Page image (PNG). Digitized image of the microfilm version produced in Woodbridge, CT by Research Publications, 1982-2002 (later known as Primary Source Microfilm, an imprint of the Gale Group).]

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