The History of the Life and Adventures of Mr. Duncan Campell

And give you organs they deserve to lose.
Impose, indeed, on all the world you would,
If you but held your tongue, because you could;
'Tis hard to say, if keeping silence still,
In one, who, could he speak, would speak with skill,
Is worse, or talk in these, who talk so ill.
Why on that tongue should purposed silence dwell,
Whence every word would drop an oracle?
More fools of thy known foresight make a jest,
For all bate greatest gifts who share the least,
(As Pope calls Dryden the often to the test[9 - See many places of his notes on Homer.])
Such from thy pen, should Irwin's sentence[10 - See Mr. Campbell's Life, page 80.] wait,
And at the gallows own the judge of fate.
Or, while with feeble impotence they rail,
Write wonders on, and with the wise prevail.

Sooner shall Denham cease to be renown'd,
Or Pope for Denham's sense quit empty sound,
To Addison's immortal heights shall rise,
Or the dwarf reach him in his native skies.
Sooner shall real gipsies grow most fair,
Or false ones mighty truths like thine declare,
Than these poor scandal-mongers hit their aim,
And blemish thine or Curll's acknowledg'd fame.

Great Nostradamus thus, his age advis'd,
The mob his counsels jeer'd, some bards[11 - Alluding to this verse, "sed cum falsa Damus, nil nisi Nostra Damus."] despis'd
Him still, neglecting these his genius fir'd,
A king encourag'd, and the world admir'd;
Greater (as times great tide increas'd) he grew,
When distant ages proved what truths he knew;
Thy nobler book a greater king received,
Whence I predict, and claim to be believ'd,
That by posterity, less fame shall be
To Nostradamus granted, than to thee;
Thee! whom the best of Kings does so defend,
And (myself barring) the best bards commend.

    H. Stanhope.
Whitehall,

June 6th, 1720.

THE END OF DUNCAN CAMPBELL

notes

1

See Mr. Campbell's Life, p. 43.

2

To see and tell

Of things invisible to mortal sight,

    Paradise Lost.

3

(Vates) See the Progress of Learning.

4

See the History of the Count de Gabalis, from whence he has taken the machinery of his Rape of the Lock.

5

Mrs. F – m – r.

6

See the Dedication of Mr. Campbell's Life.

7

See Mr. Campbell's Dedication.

8

See Cooper's Hill.

9

See many places of his notes on Homer.

10

See Mr. Campbell's Life, page 80.

11

Alluding to this verse, "sed cum falsa Damus, nil nisi Nostra Damus."