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The Ghost of Chatham; A Vision Dedicated to the House of Peers By: Anonymous |
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DEDICATED TO THE HOUSE OF PEERS.
"Now a thing was secretly brought to me, and mine ear
received a little thereof. A SPIRIT passed before my
face."
Job.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR WILLIAM HONE,
45, LUDGATE HILL. 1821. Sixpence.
J. M'Creery, Tooks Court,
Chancery Lane, London.
PREFACE.
The following lines were written under the powerful impulse of
feelings which appear to have been almost consentaneous with those of
the whole British people. The national spirit has been rouzed against
this cruel and unconstitutional attack upon the QUEEN, with pervasive
ardour, which forcibly recalls the language of the Augustan poet: "SPIRITUS intus alit, totamque infusa per ARTUS ,
MENS agitat MOLEM, et magno se corpore miscet ." This irresistible movement has been one of LOYALTY, not of FACTION; of
love and not of enmity towards the constitution. It is not disputed
that factious men exist, who are ready to swell public tumult whenever
it arises: but it is mere drivelling, for ministers and their
adherents, to talk of " radicalism " and democracy on this occasion.
They must know, if they consult the commonest sources of intelligence
open to them, that detestation of "THE BILL OF PAINS AND PENALTIES" is
rooted beyond all possibility of eradication in the breasts of an
overwhelming majority of good men, and faithful subjects. At the moment when it was determined to send the following "VISION" to
the press, a burst of honest exultation has electrified the whole
kingdom. With feelings of solemn gratitude to God, and love for my
country, I rejoice not only that the QUEEN is thus delivered from the
fangs of her enemies; but that THE KING, THE CONSTITUTION, and THE
COUNTRY, have been thus, as I do unequivocally believe, rescued from a
tremendous explosion, which would at best have been of doubtful issue
to our liberties. Notwithstanding this most happy, this providential result, I have
determined still to send out the poem to the public; because it
expresses in strong, however inadequate language, sentiments which are
essential to our character as a free people, and to the preservation
of our justly balanced monarchy. I have not assumed the FASCIS of satire, without deep conviction that
its rods were imperatively called into action: but most gladly shall I
reverse them, after the manner of the ancient LICTORS, over the
obsequies of an administration, which must be now in its death pangs.
May succeeding cabinets be WARNED, not guided , by its example!
THE GHOST OF CHATHAM; A VISION.
A vision came! It was not in the hour
Of sleep; but when the unresisted power
Of magic Fancy, threw, with full control,
Her half prophetic mantle o'er the soul.
The place was thron'd like Britain's royal halls,
And her proud navy deck'd the tap'stried walls.
Statesmen and heroes grac'd the pictur'd scene;
Fathers who were what since their sons have been;
And some whose laurell'd brows might glow with shame,
Of sons with nought of their's besides the name.
In this august abode the loud debate
Seem'd hush'd, and prince and peer in silence sate;
E'en G ff d's brazen descant seem'd to fail,
And gasping C pley gazed on L d rd le;
Panting, they loll'd their contumelious tongues,
And suck'd Italian juice to clear their lungs.
Y k mus'd on armies ; yet, with doubtful trust,
Wish'd he were certain, or the cause were just:
The eye of Cl r nce fiercely rang'd the floor,
But soften'd as it fell on D n ghm re;
While L v rp l, who inly seem'd to fear
For place and power, his fellows strove to cheer
With sickly smile; and courtier lords obscene,
Temper'd new filth, to daub their libell'd QUEEN. Sudden amid the peers whom ENGLAND hails
HER nobles men who fail but when SHE fails,
The vision rose. It was a rev'rend form
Of aged dignity: its eye was warm
With kindlings of a spirit that of old
Made those walls tremble through its earthly mould... Continue reading book >>
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History |
Literature |
Poetry |
Politics |
Satire |
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