Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 1.djvu/469

Rh For him Reviews shall smile; for him o'erflow

The patronage of Paternoster-row;

His book, with Longman's liberal aid, shall pass

(Who ne'er despises books that bring him brass);

Through three long weeks the taste of London lead,

And cross St. George's Channel and the Tweed.

But every thing has faults, nor is't unknown

That harps and fiddles often lose their tone,

And wayward voices, at their owner's call,

With all his best endeavours, only squall;

Dogs blink their covey, flints withhold the spark,

And double-barrels (damn them!) miss their mark.

Where frequent beauties strike the reader's view,

We must not quarrel for a blot or two;

But pardon equally to books or men,

The slips of Human Nature, and the Pen.