THE FEAST OF THE VIOLETS.
127
Rich yet simple, of porcelain. Angelica's self
Had had twice her attractions, with one on her shelf.
The sides were all painted, not only with Muses
And Loves, but with Lares, and sweet Household Uses:
Good Temper was laying a cloth for Good Heart,
And the Graces were actually making a tart!
Each cover for knob had a ruby, heart-shap'd;
And the whole stood on legs, with white elegance drap'd,—
Legs bewitching, most feminine, tipp'd with a shoe;
And the stockings (mark that!) were a violet blue.
Had had twice her attractions, with one on her shelf.
The sides were all painted, not only with Muses
And Loves, but with Lares, and sweet Household Uses:
Good Temper was laying a cloth for Good Heart,
And the Graces were actually making a tart!
Each cover for knob had a ruby, heart-shap'd;
And the whole stood on legs, with white elegance drap'd,—
Legs bewitching, most feminine, tipp'd with a shoe;
And the stockings (mark that!) were a violet blue.
All the room fell a whispering;—"What can they be?"
"Is it sweets?"—"concert-tickets?"—"It cannot be tea?"
"I'd give millions to know," said Miss Porter. "And I,"
Said Miss Barrett, "my head." Said Miss Landon, "I'd die."
"You may see it ex pede," said Mrs. Gore, chuckling:
"'Tis something dress'd à la Sir John—à la Suckling.[1]
"Is it sweets?"—"concert-tickets?"—"It cannot be tea?"
"I'd give millions to know," said Miss Porter. "And I,"
Said Miss Barrett, "my head." Said Miss Landon, "I'd die."
"You may see it ex pede," said Mrs. Gore, chuckling:
"'Tis something dress'd à la Sir John—à la Suckling.[1]
And 'twas so.—O Suckling, O gallant Sir John,
Thou gentleman poet, first plume of the ton;
Who the reign of two Charleses by anticipation
Didst mingle in one with thy cordial flirtation;
Fresh painter of "Weddings," great author of rare
"Poet-Sessions," and petit-soupés to the fair;
Thou gentleman poet, first plume of the ton;
Who the reign of two Charleses by anticipation
Didst mingle in one with thy cordial flirtation;
Fresh painter of "Weddings," great author of rare
"Poet-Sessions," and petit-soupés to the fair;
- ↑ Sir John Suckling, the most genuine poet of his class, stood midway between the sentiment of the first Charles's time and the careless gallantry of the second. His "Ballad on a Wedding" is as fresh as a painting done yesterday; and will remain so, as long as animal spirits and a taste for nature exist. He is the inventor of "Sessions of the Poets." It is recorded of him, that he once gave a supper to the ladies of his acquaintance, at which, upon the covers being removed, one of the courses turned out to consist of haberdashery and other such amenities; doubtless of a taste and costliness proportioned to the spirit of the entertainer.
