“ Septimius, Claudi, nimirum intelligit unus, “ Quanti me facias, &c.”

DEAR Dick*, howe'er it comes into his head,

Believes as firmly as he does his creed,
That
you

and I, Sir, are extremely great ;
Though I plain Mat, you Minister of State :
One word from me, without all doubt, he says,
Would fix his fortune in some little place.
Thus better than myself, it seems, he knows,
How far my interest with my patron goes ;
And, answering all objections I can make,
Still plunges deeper in his dear mistake.

* Richard Shelton Esquire. VOL. II.

B

From

From this wild fancy, Sir, there may proceed
One wilder yet, which I foresee and dread;
That I, in fact, a real interest have,
Which to my own advantage I would save,
And, with the usual courtier's trick, intend
To serve myself, forgetful of my

friend.
To shun. this censure, I all faame lay by;
And make my reason with his will comply.;
Hoping, for my excuse, 't will be confeft,
That of two evils I have chose the least.
So, Sir, with this epistolary scroll,
Receive the partner of my inmost soul :
Him
you

will find in letters and in laws
Not unexpert, firm to his country's cause,
Warm in the glorious interest you pursue,
And, in one word, a good man and a true.

To Mr. HARLEY, wounded by GUISCARD, 17H..

. Ab ipso

· Ducit opes animumque ferro."

HOR,

1. IN

N one great now, superior to an age,

The full extremes of Nature's force we find : How heavenly Virtue can exalt; or Rage

Infernal how degrade the human mind.

II. White