TO MR. SIMPSON.
267
Yet I owe two a debt—’tis my duty to pay it—
Of them I must speak in a kind, friendly tone.
Mrs. Barnes21—Shakespeare’s heart would have beat had he seen her—
Her magic has drawn from me many a tear,
And ne’er shall my pen or its satire chagrin her,
While pathos, and genius, and feeling are dear.
And there’s sweet Miss Leesugg,22 by-the-bye, she’s not pretty,
She’s a little too large, and has not too much grace,
Yet, there’s something about her so witching and witty,
’Tis pleasure to gaze on her good-humored face.
But as for your men—I don’t mean to be surly,
Of praise that they merit they’ll each have his share;
For the present, there’s Olliff,22 a famous Lord Burleigh,
And Hopper and Maywood, a promising pair.
H.
