Page:A Nineteenth Century Satire.djvu/17

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The present Age is one of bounce and brass, When men are lionised who play the ass; An Age, when impudence and recklessness With many is the secret of success; Which in the mildest terms one can but call, Both superficial and sensational. And of the latter—need I say? the cause Is men's mad thirst for popular applause. It is an Age of shams and counterfeits, In Commerce, in our churches, shops and streets; An Age distinguished for the paltriest tricks Of Trade, and Literature and Politics; An Age of humbug, flummery and cant. Of hurry-skurry action, and loud rant; A pleasure-seeking and ambitious Age, In which sensation follies are the rage; When what is styled, a most successful hit! Is oft devoid of decency and wit; An Age of cheap and nasty literature. Aiming to undermine the good and pure; An Age which labours to corrupt our youth, And with false doctrines to obscure the truth; An Age when Priestcraft's sleek-faced, treacherous men. In spirit crucify our Lord again;