Page:To Bourkes Statue.djvu/3

 First on the Stage, drag am'rous Charley forth Of stolid countenance in mirth or wrath, Whose blue bagged jowl proclaims his boasted tree, The Dead sea fruit of bastard ancestry;— Clever to "tip the silk" give double thong Or chalk out cherubs a là Mittagong—— This pilot, England's choice, to guide the helm Corrupt a people and confound a realm, Where Nature's gifts were all that man could have, Each stream Pactolus, Commerce on the wave, Wise were such choice, did wine and wassail bring The attributes pertaining to a King; Wise were the choice, did ignorance decree Weal, worth, and blessing to posterity; Wise is the choice, blind mortals slow to know, Where foulest sewer, the richest crop must grow; Virtue and Justice prove etceteras here Where vice is rampant, Wisdom sheds a tear.— Unhappy Land! where every post is sold Where wives work wonders, woman versus gold, Where lust and passion find an easy prey, For mothers pander for a mouster's pay; Husbands devour the bread that beauty buys,— Oh! drop the veil o'er past atrocities— As Fouché spoke of some voluptuous halls Those deeds, re-echo our vice-regal halls As o'er Pompeian stews 'neath sign of brass Be blazoned here ("hic habet felicitas")— Oh look around, where this mis-govern'd land Shews, labor lost, engraved on every hand, Should any pile rear loftier roof on high There spilt the blood of convict dynasty— Now Farmers-General vegetate at ease, The driv'ling dotards but increase their fees, Lessen the lustre of Great Britain's name, While virtue blushes, deepest blush of shame; The land were happy with no farther harm, Nor envy we the ordure of their farm——. Glorious achievement of two lustrums peace