Fanny Part 2

x.x.xVIII.

"That last infirmity of n.o.ble minds,"

Whose spell, like whiskey, your true patriot liquor, To politics the lofty hearts inclines Of all, from Clinton down to the bill-sticker Of a ward-meeting. She came slyly creeping To his bedside, where he lay snug and sleeping.

x.x.xIX.

Her brow was turban'd with a bucktail wreath, A broach of terrapin her bosom wore, Tompkins' letter was just seen beneath Her arm, and in her hand on high she bore A National Advocate--Pell's polite Review Lay at her feet--'twas pommell'd black and blue.

XL.

She was in fashion's elegant undress, m.u.f.fled from throat to ankle; and her hair Was all "_en papillotes_," each auburn tress Prettily pinn'd apart. You well might swear She was no beauty; yet, when "made up," ready For visiters, 'twas quite another lady.

XLI.

Since that wise pedant, Johnson, was in fashion, Manners have changed as well as moons; and he Would fret himself once more into a pa.s.sion, Should he return (which heaven forbid!), and see, How strangely from his standard dictionary, The meaning of some words is made to vary.

XLII.

For instance, an _undress_ at present means The wearing a pelisse, a shawl, or so; Or any thing you please, in short, that screens The face, and hides the form from top to toe; Of power to brave a quizzing-gla.s.s, or storm-- 'Tis worn in summer, when the weather's warm.

XLIII.

But a full dress is for a winter's night.

The most genteel is made of "woven air;"

That kind of cla.s.sic cobweb, soft and light, Which Lady Morgan's Ida used to wear.

And ladies, this aerial manner dress'd in, Look Eve-like, angel-like, and interesting.

XLIV.

But Miss Ambition was, as I was saying, "_Deshabillee_"--his bedside tripping near, And, gently on his nose her fingers laying, She roar'd out Tammany! in his frighted ear.

The potent word awoke him from his nap, And then she vanish'd, whisp'ring _verb.u.m sap_.

XLV.

The last words were beyond his comprehension, For he had left off schooling, ere the Greek Or Latin cla.s.sics claim'd his mind's attention: Besides, he often had been heard to speak Contemptuously of all that sort of knowledge, Taught so profoundly in Columbia College.

XLVI.

We owe the ancients something. You have read Their works, no doubt--at least in a translation; Yet there was argument in what he said, I scorn equivocation or evasion, And own it must, in candour, be confess'd, They were an ignorant set of men at best.

XLVII.

'Twas their misfortune to be born too soon By centuries, and in the wrong place too; They never saw a steamboat, or balloon, Velocipede, or Quarterly Review; Or wore a pair of Baehr's black satin breeches, Or read an Almanac, or Clinton's Speeches.

XLVIII.

In short, in every thing we far outshine them,-- Art, science, taste, and talent; and a stroll Through this enlighten'd city would refine them More than ten years hard study of the whole Their genius has produced of rich and rare-- G.o.d bless the Corporation and the Mayor!

XLIX.

In sculpture, we've a grace the Grecian master, Blushing, had own'd his purest model lacks; We've Mr. Bogart in the best of plaster, The Witch of Endor in the best of wax, Besides the head of Franklin on the roof Of Mr. Lang, both jest and weather proof.

L.

And on our City Hall a Justice stands; A neater form was never made of board, Holding majestically in her hands A pair of steelyards and a wooden sword; And looking down with complaisant civility-- Emblem of dignity and durability.

LI.

In painting, we have Trumbull's proud _chef d'[oe]uvre_, Blending in one the funny and the fine: His "Independence" will endure for ever, And so will Mr. Allen's lottery sign; And all that grace the Academy of Arts, From Dr. Hosack's face to Bonaparte's.

LII.

In architecture, our unrivall'd skill Cullen's magnesian shop has loudly spoken To an admiring world; and better still Is Gautier's fairy palace at Hoboken.

In music, we've the Euterpian Society, And amateurs, a wonderful variety.

LIII.

In physic, we have Francis and M'Neven, Famed for long heads, short lectures, and long bills; And Quackenboss and others, who from heaven Were rain'd upon us in a shower of pills; They'd beat the deathless Esculapius hollow, And make a starveling druggist of Apollo.

LIV.

And who, that ever slumber'd at the Forum, But owns the first of orators we claim; Cicero would have bow'd the knee before 'em-- And for law eloquence, we've Doctor Graham.

Compared with him, their Justins and Quintillians Had dwindled into second-rate civilians.

LV.

For purity and chast.i.ty of style, There's Pell's preface, and puffs by Horne and Waite.

For penetration deep, and learned toil, And all that stamps an author truly great, Have we not Bristed's ponderous tomes? a treasure For any man of patience and of leisure.