Page:The Works of the Rev. Jonathan Swift, Volume 8.djvu/209

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HORACE, PART OF BOOK I, SAT. IV,


PARAPHRASED. 1733.


IF noisy Tom[1] should in the senate prate,
"That he would answer both for church and state;
And, farther to demonstrate his affection,
Would take the kingdom into his protection:"
All mortals must be curious to inquire,
Who could this coxcomb be, and who his sire?
"What! thou, the spawn of him[2] who sham'd our isle,
Traitor, assassin, and informer vile!
Though by the female side[3] you proudly bring,
To mend your breed, the murderer of a king;
What was thy grandsire[4], but a mountaineer,
Who held a cabin for ten groats a year;
Whose master Moore[5] preserved him from the halter!
For stealing cows; nor could he read the Psalter!
Durst thou, ungrateful, from the senate chace

Thy founder's grandson[6], and usurp his place?

"Just

  1. Sir Thomas Prendergast.
  2. The father of sir Thomas Prendergast, who engaged in a plot to murder king William III; but, to avoid being hanged, turned informer against his associates, for which he was rewarded with a good estate, and made a baronet.
  3. Cadogan's family.
  4. A poor thieving cottager under Mr. Moore, condemned at Clonmell assizes to be hanged for stealing cows.
  5. The grandfather of Guy Moore, esq., who procured him a pardon.
  6. Guy Moore was fairly elected member of parliament for Clonmell; but sir Thomas, depending upon his interest with
O 4
a certain