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OR, THE

MINISTER OF STATE.

TO THE

LORD TREASURER OXFORD.

ATLAS, we read in ancient song,

Was fo exceeding tall and strong,

He bore the skies upon his back,
Just as a pedlar does his pack;
But, as a pedlar overprefs'd
Unloads upon a stall to rest,

Or, when he can no longer ftand,
Defires a friend to lend a hand;
So Atlas, left the pond'rous fpheres
Shou'd fink, and fall about his ears,
Got Hercules to bear the pile,
That he might fit and reft a while.
Yet Hercules was not fo ftrong,
Nor could have borne it half fo long.
Great ftatesmen are in this condition;
And Atlas is a politician,

A premier minister of ftate;

Alcides one of fecond rate.

Suppofe then Atlas ne'er fo wife,

Yet, when the weight of kingdoms lies Too long upon his fingle fhoulders, Sink down he muft, or find upholders.

THE

THE

DESCRIPTION

OF A

SALAMANDER,

Out of Pliny's Natural History, Lib. 10. C. 67. and Lib. 29. C. 4.

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S maftiff dogs in modern phrase are
Call'd Pompey, Scipio, and Cæfar;

As pyes and daws are often ftil'd
With christian nick-names like a child
As we fay monfieur to an ape,
Without offence to human fhape;
So men have got from bird and brute
Names that would beft their natures fuit,
The lion, eagle, fox, and boar,
Were heroes titles heretofore,
Beftow'd as hi'roglyphicks fit

To fhew their valour, ftrength, or wit:
For what is understood by fame,
Befides the getting of a name?
But, e'er fince men invented guns,
A diff'rent way their fancy runs:
To paint a hero, we enquire
For fomething that will conquer fire.

Would

Would you describe Turenne* or Trump+?
Think of a bucket or a pump.

Are these too low ?--then find out grander,
Call my lord Cuts a falamander‡.
"Tis well ;---but fince we live among
Detractors with an evil tongue,
Who may object against the term,
Pliny fhall prove what we affirm;
Pliny fhall
prove, and we'll apply,

And I'll be judg'd by ftanders-by.
Firft, then, our author has defin'd
This reptile of the ferpent kind,
With gaudy coat, and fhining train ;
But loathfome fpots his body stain :
Out from fome hole obfcure he flies,
When rains defcend, and tempefts rife,
Till the fun clears the air; and then
Crawls back neglected to his den.

So, when the war has rais'd a storm, I've seen a fnake in human form,

*The famous marefchal Turenne, general of the French forces, faid to have been the greatest commander of the age.

+ Van Trump, admiral of the States General in their laft war with England eminent for his courage and his victories.

Lord Cuts. Salamander was a name given him by his flatterers, upon his having fur

vived an engagement in which he flood an inceflant fire for many hours. He is faid frequently to have lamented himself in thefe terms, "G-d d-n my

bl-d, I'm the most unlucky "dog upon earth; for I never

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engaged an enemy without "being wounded, nor a whore "without being p-x'd."

All

All ftain'd with infamy and vice,
Leap from the dunghill in a trice,
Burnish, and make a gaudy show,
Become a genʼral, peer, and beau,
Till peace hath made the sky ferene ;
Then fhrink into its hole again.

All this we grant---why then look yonder,
Sure that must be a falamander !

Farther, we are by Pliny told,
This ferpent is extremely cold;
So cold, that, put it in the fire,
"Twill make the very Aames expire :
Befides, it spews a filthy froth
(Whether thro' rage, or love, or both,)
Of matter purulent and white,
Which happening on the skin to light,
And there corrupting to a wound,
Spreads leprofy and baldness round.
So have I feen a batter'd beau,

By age and claps grown cold as fnow,
Whose breath or touch, where-e'er he came,
Blew out love's torch, or chill'd the flame :
And fhou'd fome nymph who ne'er was
cruel,

Like Charleton cheap, or fam'd Du-Ruel, Receive

Receive the filth which he ejects,
She foon wou'd find the fame effects
Her tainted carcass to pursue,
As from the falamander's fpue;
A dismal shedding of her locks,
And, if no leprofy, a pox.

Then I'll appeal to each by-ftander,
If this be not a Salamander?

* THE

ELEPHANT;

OR,

THE PARLIAMENT-MAN:

E'R

Written many Years fince.

Taken from Coke's Inftitutes.

'RE bribes convince you whom to
chufe,

The precepts of lord Coke perufe:
Observe an elephant, says he,

And let like him your member be:
First, take a man that's free from gall;
For elephants have none at all:
In flocks or parties he must keep;
For elephants live just like sheep:

Stubborn

1

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