Pardon, if I in aught did thee blaspheme,
Or injure thy pure sacred name:
Accept unfeigned repentance, prayers, and vows,
The best atonement of my penitent humble muse,
The best that heaven requires, or mankind can produce.
All my attempts hereafter shall at thy devotion be,
Ready to consecrate my ink and very blood to thee.
Forgive me, ye blest souls that dwell above,
Where you by its reward the worth of virtue prove;
Forgive, if you can do't, who know no passion now but love.
And you unhappy, happy few,
Who strive with life, and human miseries below,
Forgive me too,
If I in aught disparaged them, or else discouraged you.
2
Does to our fallen race restore
All that in Paradise we lost, and more;
Lifts us to heaven, and makes us be
The heirs and image of the deity.
Soft gentle yoke! which none but resty fools refuse,
Which before freedom I would ever choose.
explanation, for its purpose is obvious enough, but an apology, such as Oldham had the good sense to publish along with it. In that apology there is a sufficient justification for the exclusion of the piece from this volume. If Oldham found it necessary to deprecate its coarseness at a time when no language was considered too gross for satire, there is still greater reason for rejecting it altogether in the present age. It may be inferred from the above Counterpart, published amongst his Remains, that had he lived to revise and collect his works, he would himself have cast out a foolish poem which he earnestly regretted having written. The satire itself comes strictly within Pope's censure. It is mere bald Billingsgate, and falls flat from the dead weight of its gratuitous extravagance. Oldham mistook his powers when he attempted a masquerade of this kind, which requires to be sustained by the play of covert wit. His strength was in the opposite direction; and he always succeeded best when he went straight to his object.
