not in every parifh; fo that your petitioners may be recognised as fervants of the public, and not be liable to be taken up like fturdy beggars, and imprisoned at the caprice of every juftice of the peace. This they are emboldened to fuggeft, as tragedies and comedies have obtained fuch immunities, things which nobody ever pretended to be the cause of our victories over France; while it is allowed that, without the aid of your petitioners, the people of England would never have dared to look a Frenchman in the face!

Your petitioners, therefore, trufting to the vigilance of your Honourable Houfe, entertain a confident hope that their interefts, thus connected with the welfare of the state, will be protected. But, at all events, they trust that a fuitable indemnification will be allowed them for the lofs of their callings. They humbly conceive that it would not injure the feelings of the many high and noble perfonages whofe names grace the penfion lift, that thofe of the petitioners, acknowledged benefactors to the ftate, fhould be admitted to the fame honour.

May it, therefore, please your Honourable House to take the matter into your high confideration, and grant them fuch relief in the premises, as to your wifdom fhall feem meet.

And your petitioners fhall ever bark, &c.

The whole meeting growled affent; and every dog Approv'd as plain as he could bark,

And with his forefoot made his mark.

It was moved and feconded, that the requested to prefent the above petition.

be

That the thanks of this meeting be given to the for his fteady defence of the rights and interefts of this fociety, and that the fame be prefented, viva voce, the firit opportunity.

It was likewife refolved, That a committee should conftantly fit to draw up inftructions and correspond

with the faid

in Parliament.

Adjourned fine die.

ON READING IN A NEWSPAPER,

OF A CLERGYMAN's

SENDING FOR A COUPLE OF BEARS,
FLOCK AT THE WAKE.

OF Jeffe's youthful fon we read,

TO AMUSE HIS

A manly, generous, valorous deed,
To fhield his fleecy care:

He, aided by the God of might,
Reícu'd his flock, and put to flight

The lion and the bear.

The change fince then that 's taken place
Would force the tears from David's face
To trickle down amain:

Danger's not fear'd; the foes are friends;
The fhepherd now for Bruin fends,

The flock to entertain!

Prefoot.

W. HILL.

CHARACTERS THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DRAWN ON TWELFTH-NIGHT.

A

[From the Morning Poft.]

THE PRINCE OF WALES,

PRINCE of Wales! foar higher, if he can;
The Prince's prouder title's, Gentleman!

LORD NELSON.

Off with Briareus, and his hundred hands ;
Our Nelfon, with one arm, unconquer'd stands !

SIR SIDNEY SMITH.

Who'd fay, "The age of chivalry is gone,"
That had at Acre's fiege been looking on?

THE CITY CHAMPION.

Don't be afraid; though cas'd fuch armoar bright in,
There's nothing further from my thoughts, than fighting

I, that was erst a ftout peace-hater,
Am now a great pacificator;
And, fpite of anti-jacobin pride,
Have fhaken hands with regicide.

MESSRS. C-G AND FE.

At Eton fchool brought up with dull boys,
We fhone like men among the boolboys;
But fince we in the world have been,
We are but Schoolboys among men.

MR. W-M.

Even from the very toe to top o'-me,
I'm raving with a French hydrophoby;
I fay mad things, and make mad work,
And pin my faith on Mr. Burke.

B-SH-P PN.

When P-t was yet a pupil mild,

To fpare the rod I spoil'd the child;

But fince, to make things fquare, folks mutter,
The boy grown up hath spoil'd the tutor.

Jan. 18, 1802.

HONOURS

HONOURS OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE.

MR. EDITOR,

AS

[From the Courier.]

S by your infertion of certain French epigrams, you have commenced what I conceive to be a very fcurrilous attack on the French National Inftitute, for electing Mr. Haydn, the celebrated musician, as the reprefentative of the literature of Europe, in preference to one Sheridan, who, whatever may be faid of his writings, wit, or eloquence, I am credibly informed, cannot fupport a part in a glee, even at the Prince's table; I beg you will follow that facred rule of equity, audi alteram partem. I therefore tranfmit to you thefe counter-epigrams, if I may fo call them; which, I am affured, do full juftice to Mr. Haydn; though, from my ignorance of the English language, I cannot judge of them, and am even obliged to truft this communication to a tranflator.

Yours, with great confideration,

JAN CASPER SPREINCK.

Titchfield Street, Jan. 12, 1802,

EPIGRAM.

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FRANCE,

HAYDN verfus SHERIDAN,

The two foreign Candidates propofed by the Primary Electors for the Clafs of Literature and the Fine Arts.

HAYDN SUCCESSFUL!

THE wife decifion all admire,

"T was just beyond difpute,
And worthy of the Institute:

Sound taste! which to Apollo's lyre

Preferr'd--a GERMAN flute !

ANOTHER

ANOTHER.

PASS by wit, eloquence, and poetry;
Give way to claims of higher place ;
Give way to Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dee,
Make room, make room, for Thorough Bafs.

ANOTHER.
HAYDN a pious dirge compos'd,'
To which, by puffs, the town were dos'd
To fullen refignation;

The barb'rous canticle was fung,
Was gargled from each German tongue,
And nick-nam'd, The Creation.

But now he's beaten horse and foot,
By the great Paris Inftitute,
Beyond all refutation;

They've made him fcholar, wife, difcerning,
The head and prop of liberal learning,
This is, indeed, Creation.

ANOTHER.

TIME was when Pindar's facred fire,
And gay Anacreon's festive lyre,
And bold Alcæus' fong,

Affum'd the homage of the human heart,

Yet

to "concord fweet" its fame and part;
gave
Time was when mufic was the poet's tongue,
Then, modeft Melody, thy task and praise
Follow'd the bard and his infpiring lays;
A gentle helpmate by his fide you stood,
Watch'd his commanding eye and own'd the Mufes'
God.

Poet! that time is paft; fubdue thy pride;
Go, be the fiddler's lacquey, not his guide,
So the wife Institute of France decide.
Submiffive Genius yield without defence,
Where rebel Sound ufurps the place of Senfe.

}

ANOTHER.