WOULD the Baptist come again
And preach aloud with might and
main

Repentance to our viperous race!
But should this miracle take place,
I hope, ere Irish ground he treads,
He'll lay in a good stock of heads!

II.

OCCASIONED BY THE FORMER.

HOLD of all our viperous race
The greedy creeping things in place
Most vile, most venomous; and then
The United Irishmen !

* In Southey's "Annual Anthology," vol. ii., without any signature. We have relegated eight out of seventeen of these epigrams to our last division.

To come on earth should John determine,
Imprimis, we'll excuse his sermon.
Without a word the good old Dervis
Might work incalculable service,
At once from tyranny and riot
Save laws, lives, liberties, and moneys,
If sticking to his ancient diet

He'd but eat up our locusts1 and wild honeys !

III.

ON A READER OF HIS OWN

VERSES.*

OARSE MÆVIUS reads his hobbling

verse

To all, and at all times;

And deems them both divinely smooth,

His voice, as well as rhymes.

But folks say,-" Mævius is no ass!
But Mævius makes it clear
That he's a monster of an ass,

An ass without an ear.

Locusts.] The "creeping things in place."

we have

* From the German, according to Cottle. The epigram appears in the "Remains" (where for "deems". "finds") with the date, 1797,-which should be 1799, no doubt.

IV.

"HOW THE LIAR CHEATS US." *

F the guilt of all lying consists in deceit,

Lie on, 'tis your duty, sweet

youth!

For believe me, then only we find you a cheat, When you cunningly tell us the truth.

V.

"GILES'S HOPE."

HAT? rise again with all one's bones ?

W

Quoth Giles, I hope you fib:

I trusted, when I went to Heaven,
Το go without my rib.

* Cottle says, from the German.

VI.

ON A BAD SINGER.*

WANS sing before they die :-'twere no bad thing,

Should certain persons die before they sing.

*

VII.

“REJOINDER AND REPLY.” ↑

JOKE (cries Jack) without a sting:-
Post obitum can no man sing.

And true, if Jack don't mend his

manners,

And quit the atheistic banners,
Post obitum will Jack run foul
Of such folks as can only howl.

This epigram, but not the rejoinder, appears in the edition of 1834.

+ Headed in the "Anthology,"-" occasioned by the last."

VIII.

"AN ANALOGY."

O be ruled liked a Frenchman the
Briton is loth,

Yet in truth a direct tory governs
them both.

1798.'

IX.

ON A VERY UGLY WOMAN.

OW happy for us mortals 'twere,
Had Eve been such a woman!
The Devil ne'er had tempted her,
And she had tempted no man.

1798.] We need not suppose the epigram to have been written at this date.