Specimens with Memoirs of the Less-Known British Poets (1860) - Softcover

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Despised nature, suit them once aright, Their body to their coat, both now misdight. Their body to their clothes might shapen be, That nill their clothes shape to their body. Meanwhile I wonder at so proud a back, Whiles the empty guts loud rumblen for long lack: The belly envieth the back's bright glee, And murmurs at such inequality. The back appears unto the partial eyne, The plaintive belly pleads they bribed been: And he, for want of better advocate, Doth to the ear his injury relate. The back, insulting o'er the belly's need, Says, Thou thyself, I others' eyes must feed. The maw, the guts, all inward parts complain The back's great pride, and their own secret pain. Ye witless gallants, I beshrew your hearts, That sets such discord 'twixt agreeing parts, Which never can be set at onement more, Until the maw's wide mouth be stopt with store. BICHARD LOVELACE. This unlucky cavalier and bard was born in 1618. He was the son of Sir William Lovelace, of Woolwich, in Kent. He was educated some say at Oxford, and others at Cambridge— took a master's degree, and was afterwards presented at Court. Anthony Wood thus describes his personal appearance at the age of sixteen:—' He was the most amiable and beautiful person that eye ever beheld,—a person also of innate modesty, virtue, and courtly deportment, which made him then, but especially after when he retired to the great city, much admired and adored by the fair sex.' Soon after this, he was chosen by the county of Kent to deliver a petition from the inhabitants to the House of Commons, praying them to restore the King to his rights, and to settle the government. Such offence was given by this to the Long Parliament, that Lovelace was thrown into prison, and only liberate...