He is gone who seemed so great--
Gone; but nothing can bereave him
Of the force he made his own
Being here, and we believe him
Something far advanced in state,
And that he wears a truer crown
Than any wreath that man can weave him.
Speak no more of his renown,
Lay your earthly fancies down,
And in the vast cathedral leave him,
God accept him, Christ receive him!
II
GEORGE CANNING
POLITICAL POETRY
["The Needy Knife-Grinder," which follows, was one of the most
notable contributions which appeared in "The Anti-Jacobin." It is
scarcely necessary to point out its satire upon the humanitarian
sympathies of those Englishmen who had been carried away by the
ideas of the French Revolution. The verses--a parody of Stanley's
"Sapphics"--were the joint production of George Canning and John
Hookham Frere.]
THE FRIEND OF HUMANITY AND THE NEEDY KNIFE-GRINDER
FRIEND OF HUMANITY
Needy knife-grinder! Whither are you going?
Rough is the road; your wheel is out of order;
Bleak blows the blast; your hat has got a hole in't,
So have your breeches!
Weary knife-grinder! little think the proud ones
Who in their coaches roll along the turnpike
Road, what hard work 'tis crying all day "Knives and
Scissors to grind O!"
Tell me, knife-grinder, how you came to grind knives?
Did some rich man tyrannically use you?
Was it some squire? or parson of the parish?
Or the attorney?
Was it the squire for killing of his game? Or
Covetous parson, for his tithes distraining?
Or roguish lawyer, made you lose your little
All in a lawsuit?
Have you not read the "Rights of Man," by Tom Paine?
Drops of compassion tremble on my eyelids,
Ready to fall as soon as you have told your
Pitiful story.
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