Too busy to intend a meaner care
Than how t' enrich thyfelf, and next thine heir Or art thou (as though rich, perhaps thou art) But poor in knowledge, having none t' impart ;- Behold that figure, neat, though plainly clad, His fprightly mingled with a fhade of fad;
Not of a nimble tongue, though now and then Heard to articulate like other men ;
No jester, and yet lively in discourse,
His phrase well chofen, clear, and full of force; And his addrefs, if not quite French in ease, Not English ftiff, but frank and form'd to pleafe; Low in the world, because he fcorns its arts,
A man of letters, manners, morals, parts; Unpatroniz'd, and therefore little known, Wife for himself and his few friends alone- In him thy well-appointed proxy fee,
Arm'd for a work too difficult for thee;
Prepar'd by tafte, by learning, and true worth, To form thy fon, to ftrike his genius forth;
Beneath thy roof, beneath thine eye to prove The force of difcipline when back'd by love; To double all thy pleasure in thy child, His mind inform'd, his morals undefil'd. Safe under fuch a wing, the boy shall show No spots contracted among grooms below, Nor taint his fpeech with meanneffes, defign'd By footman Tom for witty and refin'd. There, in his commerce with the liveried herd, Lurks the contagion chiefly to be fear'd; For fince (fo fashion dictates) all who claim An higher than a mere plebeian fame, Find it expedient, come what mifchief may, To entertain a thief or two in
(And they that can afford th'
Some half a dozen and some half a fcore) Great cause occurs to fave him from a band So fure to spoil him, and so near at hand ; A point fecur'd, if once he be fupplied With fome fuch Mentor always at his fide.
Are fuch men rare? perhaps they would abound
Were occupation easier to be found,
Were education, else fo fure to fail, Conducted on a manageable scale,
And schools, that have outliv'd all just esteem, Exchang'd for the fecure domestic scheme.-
But, having found him, be thou duke or earl, Show thou hast sense enough to prize the pearl, And, as thou would'st th' advancement of thine heir In all good faculties beneath his care,
Refpect, as is but rational and just,
A man deem'd worthy of fo dear a trust. Despis'd by thee, what more can he expect From youthful folly, than the fame neglect? A flat, and fatal negative obtains,
That inftant, upon all his future pains ; His leffons tire, his mild rebukes offend,
And all the inftructions of thy fon's best friend Are a stream choak'd, or trickling to no end.
Doom him not then to folitary meals, But recollect that he has sense, and feels;
And that, poffeffor of a foul refin'd,
An upright heart and cultivated mind, His poft not mean, his talents not unknown, He deems it hard to vegetate alone. And if admitted at thy board he fit, Account him no just mark for idle wit; Offend not him, whom modesty restrains From rapartee, with jokes that he disdains, Much lefs transfix his feelings with an oath, Nor frown, unless he vanish with the cloth.- And, trust me, his utility may reach
To more than he is hir'd or bound to teach, Much trash unutter'd, and fome ills undone, Through rev'rence of the cenfor of thy fon.
But if thy table be indeed unclean,
Foul with excefs, and with discourse obscene,
And thou a wretch, whom, following her old plan, The world accounts an honourable man, Because forfooth thy courage has been tried And stood the teft, perhaps on the wrong fide, Though thou hadft never grace enough to prove That any thing but vice could win thy love ;- Or haft thou a polite, card-playing wife,
Chain'd to the routs that she frequents, for life, Who, juft when industry begins to fnore,
Flies, wing'd with joy, to fome coach-crowded door, And thrice in ev'ry winter throngs thine own With half the chariots and fedans in town,
Thyfelf meanwhile e'en fhifting as thou may'ft, Not very fober though, nor very chafte ;- Or is thine house, though lefs fuperb thy rank, If not a scene of pleafure, a mere blank,
And thou at beft, and in thy fob'reft mood,
A trifler vain, and empty of all good ;
Though mercy for thyfelf thou can't have none, Hear nature plead, fhow mercy to thy fon.
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