crept graceful on the walls,
Th' _Acanthus_ weav'd no splendid Capitals;
Nor did the Attic elegance supply
One simple foliage for the judging eye.
But, in their stead, Confusion void of Sense,
And all the pride of false Magnificence,
Display'd an idle, vain, fantastic show,
Fit only for the Crowd that gaz'd below.

Gay China's unsubstantial forms supply
The place of Beauty, Strength, Simplicity.
Each varied colour, of the brightest hue,
The green, the red, the yellow, and the blue,
In every part the dazzled eyes behold,
Here streak'd with silver, there enrich'd with gold;
While fancied forms upon the ceiling sprawl,
And shapeless monsters decorate the wall.

In every scatter'd niche I look'd in vain
For Heroes famous on th' embattled plain;
Or animated Bust, whose brow severe
Mark'd the sage Statesman or Philosopher.
But in the place of those whose Patriot fame
Gave glory to the Greek and Roman name,
Or Heroes who for Freedom bravely fought,
Men without heads,--and Heads that' never thought,
Greet my sick eye,--with all their names enroll'd
In the vain pomp of prostituted gold.

Nor had the Painter's active hand restrain'd
The all-bedaubing brush: the walls were stain'd
With the gay colourings of capricious Art,
Wherein nor Truth nor Genius bore a part.
There _Sigismunda_'s form again I knew,
Which FOLLY hinted, and old _Hogarth_ drew.
No sketch of REYNOLD's pencil did appear,
Science and Taste found no admittance there;
But the vain Painter had essay'd to trace,
In rude distortion, and with strange grimace,
Each story the Historic Pages tell,
Where FOLLY triumph'd, and where WISDOM fell.

There the great BACON, whose sagacious eye
Pierc'd through the gloom of dark Philosophy,
And to the World unveil'd her awful face,
Crouch'd a low, servile Courtier in disgrace.
There PULTENEY, who the first stout bulwark stood
Of British Freedom 'gainst the torrent flood
Of dire Corruption, having stemm'd the wave,
Shook off the Patriot, and became the Slave.
There PITT, whose great and comprehensive soul
No threats could frighten, no events controul;
Whose name dash'd terror on his Country's foes,
From GALLIA'S Shores to where the GANGES flows
Through Eastern Nations;--There he wore the chain
Of Royal Gold,