An Apology to Lady Carteret

A lady, wise as well as fair,Whose conscience always was her care,Thoughtful upon a point of moment,Would have the text as well as comment:So hearing of a grave divine,She sent to bid him come to dine.But, you must know he was not quiteSo grave as to be unpolite:Thought human learning would not lessenThe dignity of his profession:And if you'd heard the man discourse,Or preach, you'd like him scarce the worse.He long had bid the court farewell,Retreating silent to his cell;Suspected for the love he boreTo one who sway'd some time before;Which made it more surprising howHe should be sent for thither now.The message told, he gapes, and stares,And scarce believes his eyes or ears:Could not conceive what it should mean,And fain would hear it told again.But then the squire so trim and nice,'Twere rude to make him tell it twice;So bow'd, was thankful for the honour;And would not fail to wait upon her.His beaver brush'd, his shoes, and gown,Away he trudges into town;Passes the lower castle yard,And now advancing to the guard,He trembles at the thoughts of state;For, conscious of his sheepish gait,His spirits of a sudden fail'd him;He stopp'd, and could not tell what ail'd him.What was the message I received?Why certainly the captain raved?To dine with her! and come at three!Impossible! it can't be me.Or maybe I mistook the word;My lady--it must be my lord.My lord 's abroad; my lady too:What must the unhappy doctor do?"Is Captain Cracherode here, pray?"--"No.""Nay, then 'tis time for me to go."Am I awake, or do I dream?I'm sure he call'd me by my name;Named me as plain as he could speak;And yet there must be some mistake.Why, what a jest should I have been,Had now my lady been within!What could I've said? I'm mighty gladShe went abroad--she'd thought me mad.The hour of dining now is past:Well then, I'll e'en go home and fast:And, since I 'scaped being made a scoff,I think I'm very fairly off.My lady now returning home,Calls "Cracherode, is the Doctor come?"He had not heard of him--"Pray see,'Tis now a quarter after three."The captain walks about, and searchesThrough all the rooms, and courts, and arches;Examines all the servants round,In vain--no doctor's to be found.My lady could not choose but wonder;"Captain, I fear you've made some blunder;But, pray, to-morrow go at ten;I'll try his manners once again;If rudeness be th' effect of knowledge,My son shall never see a college."The captain was a man of reading,And much good sense, as well as breeding;Who, loath to blame, or to incense,Said little in his own defence.Next day another message brought;The Doctor, frighten'd at his fault,Is dress'd, and stealing through the crowd,Now pale as death, then blush'd and bow'd,Panting--and faltering--humm'd and ha'd,"Her ladyship was gone abroad:The captain too--he did not knowWhether he ought to stay or go;"Begg'd she'd forgive him. In conclusion,My lady, pitying his confusion,Call'd her good nature to relieve him;Told him, she thought she might believe him;And would not only grant his suit,But visit him, and eat some fruit,Provided, at a proper time,He told the real truth in rhyme;'Twas to no purpose to oppose,She'd hear of no excuse in prose.The Doctor stood not to debate,Glad to compound at any rate;So, bowing, seemingly complied;Though, if he durst, he had denied.But first, resolved to show his taste,Was too refined to give a feast;He'd treat with nothing that was rare,But winding walks and purer air;Would entertain without expense,Or pride or vain magnificence:For well he knew, to such a guestThe plainest meals must be the best.To stomachs clogg'd with costly fareSimplicity alone is rare;While high, and nice, and curious meatsAre really but vulgar treats.Instead of spoils of Persian looms,The costly boast of regal rooms,Thought it more courtly and discreetTo scatter roses at her feet;Roses of richest dye, that shoneWith native lustre, like her own;Beauty that needs no aid of artThrough every sense to reach the heart.The gracious dame, though well she knewAll this was much beneath her due,Liked everything--at least thought fitTo praise it par manière d'acquit.Yet she, though seeming pleased, can't bearThe scorching sun, or chilling air;Disturb'd alike at both extremes,Whether he shows or hides his beams:Though seeming pleased at all she sees,Starts at the ruffling of the trees,And scarce can speak for want of breath,In half a walk fatigued to death.The Doctor takes his hint from hence,T' apologize his late offence:"Madam, the mighty power of useNow strangely pleads in my excuse;If you unused have scarcely strengthTo gain this walk's untoward length;If, frighten'd at a scene so rude,Through long disuse of solitude;If, long confined to fires and screens,You dread the waving of these greens;If you, who long have breathed the fumesOf city fogs and crowded rooms,Do now solicitously shunThe cooler air and dazzling sun;If his majestic eye you flee,Learn hence t' excuse and pity me.Consider what it is to bearThe powder'd courtier's witty sneer;To see th' important man of dressScoffing my college awkwardness;To be the strutting cornet's sport,To run the gauntlet of the court,Winning my way by slow approaches,Through crowds of coxcombs and of coaches,From the first fierce cockaded sentry,Quite through the tribe of waiting gentry;To pass so many crowded stages,And stand the staring of your pages:And after all, to crown my spleen,Be told--'You are not to be seen:'Or, if you are, be forced to bearThe awe of your majestic air.And can I then be faulty found,In dreading this vexatious round?Can it be strange, if I eschewA scene so glorious and so new?Or is he criminal that fliesThe living lustre of your eyes?"