Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 1.djvu/235

195 Whom, still, affection taught me to defend,

And made me less a tyrant than a friend,

Though the harsh custom of our youthful band

Bade thee obey, and gave me to command;

Thee, on whose head a few short years will shower

The gift of riches, and the pride of power;

E'en now a name illustrious is thine own,

Renown'd in rank, not far beneath the throne.

Yet, Dorset, let not this seduce thy soul

To shun fair science, or evade controul;

Though passive tutors, fearful to dispraise

The titled child, whose future breath may raise,

View ducal errors with indulgent eyes,

And wink at faults they tremble to chastise.