A Friendly Apology for a Certain Justice of Peace. By Way of Defence of Hartley Hutcheson, Esq. By James Black-well, Operator for the Feet
But he by bawling news about,And aptly using brush and clout,A justice of the peace became,To punish rogues who do the same.
I sing the man of courage tried,O'errun with ignorance and pride,Who boldly hunted out disgraceWith canker'd mind, and hideous face;The first who made (let none deny it)The libel-vending rogues be quiet.The fact was glorious, we must own,For Hartley was before unknown,Contemn'd I mean;--for who would chuseSo vile a subject for the Muse?'Twas once the noblest of his wishesTo fill his paunch with scraps from dishes,For which he'd parch before the grate,Or wind the jack's slow-rising weight,(Such toils as best his talents fit,)Or polish shoes, or turn the spit;But, unexpectedly grown rich inSquire Domvile's family and kitchen,He pants to eternize his name,And takes the dirty road to fame;Believes that persecuting witWill prove the surest way to it;So with a colonel at his back,The Libel feels his first attack;He calls it a seditious paper,Writ by another patriot Drapier;Then raves and blunders nonsense thickerThan alderman o'ercharged with liquor:And all this with design, no doubt,To hear his praises hawk'd about;To send his name through every street,Which erst he roam'd with dirty feet;Well pleased to live in future times,Though but in keen satiric rhymes.So, Ajax, who, for aught we know,Was justice many years ago,And minding then no earthly things,But killing libellers of kings;Or if he wanted work to do,To run a bawling news-boy through;Yet he, when wrapp'd up in a cloud,Entreated father Jove aloud,Only in light to show his face,Though it might tend to his disgrace.And so the Ephesian villain firedThe temple which the world admired,Contemning death, despising shame,To gain an ever-odious name.
Harrington's regiment of dragoons, who made a news-boy evidence against
Words in this poem 15
- aptly adv.
- In an apt or suitable manner; fitly; properly; pertinently; appropriately; readily.
- clout n.
- A cloth; a piece of cloth or leather; a patch; a rag. [AS. clut a little cloth, piece of metal; cf. Sw. klut, Icel. klutr a kerchief, or W. clwt a clout, Gael. clud.]
- boldly adv.
- In a bold manner. [AS. bealdlice.]
- glorious a.
- Exhibiting attributes, qualities, or acts that are worthy of or receive glory; noble; praiseworthy; excellent; splendid; illustrious; inspiring admiration; as, glorious deeds. [OF. glorios, glorious, F. glorieux, fr. L. gloriosus. See Glory, n.]
- paunch n.
- The belly and its contents; the abdomen; also, the first stomach, or rumen, of ruminants. See Rumen. [OF. panch, pance, F. panse, L. pantex, panticis.]
- parch v. t.
- To burn the surface of; to scorch; to roast over the fire, as dry grain; as, to parch the skin; to parch corn. [OE. perchen to pierce, hence used of a piercing heat or cold, OF. perchier, another form of percier, F. percer. See Pierce.]
- eternize v. t.
- To make eternal or endless. [Cf. F. éterniser.]
- alderman n.
- A senior or superior; a person of rank or dignity. [AS. aldormon, ealdorman; ealdor an elder + man. See Elder, n.]
- satiric a.
- Of or pertaining to satire; of the nature of satire; as, a satiric style. [L. satiricus: cf. F. satirique.]
- aught n.
- Property; possession. [AS. , fr. agan to own, p. p. ahte.]
- minding n.
- Regard; mindfulness.
- jove n.
- The chief divinity of the ancient Romans; Jupiter. [L. Jupiter, gen. Jovis, OL. Jovis, nom. & gen. for Djovis; akin to E. Tuesday. See Tuesday, and cf. Jupiter.]
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- ephesian a.
- Of or pertaining to Ephesus, an ancient city of Ionia, in Asia Minor. [L. Ephesius: cf. F. éphésien.]
- admired a.
- Regarded with wonder and delight; highly prized; as, an admired poem.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Friendly Apology for a Certain Justice of Peace. By Way of Defence of Hartley Hutcheson, Esq. By James Black-well, Operator for the Feet is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Poems of Jonathan Swift, D.D., Volume 2, Project Gutenberg ebook #13621; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Jonathan Swift, A Friendly Apology for a Certain Justice of Peace. By Way of Defence of Hartley Hutcheson, Esq. By James Black-well, Operator for the Feet, in Cadenus and Vanessa, and Other Poems (1710–1745), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #13621, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/swift-poems/a-friendly-apology-for-a-certain-justice-of-peace-by-way-of-defence-of-hartley-hutcheson-esq-by-james-black-well-operator-for-the-feet.html, id L26339.
Form and metre
A Friendly Apology for a Certain Justice of Peace. By Way of Defence of Hartley Hutcheson, Esq. By James Black-well, Operator for the Feet is 53 lines in 3 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABB aboutA · cloutA · becameB · sameB
- 2 AABBCCDDEEFFGGHHIIJJKKLLMMNNOOPPQQRRSSTTUUVVWWXX triedA · prideA · disgraceB · faceB · itC · quietC · ownD · unknownD · chuseE · museE · wishesF · dishesF · grateG · weightG · fitH · spitH · inI · kitchenI · nameJ · fameJ · witK · itK · backL · attackL · paperM · drapierM · thickerN · liquorN · doubtO · aboutO · streetP · feetP · timesQ · rhymesQ · knowR · agoR · thingsS · kingsS · doT · throughT · cloudU · aloudU · faceV · disgraceV · firedW · admiredW · shameX · nameX
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| But he by bawling news about, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And aptly using brush and clout, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| A justice of the peace became, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| To punish rogues who do the same. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| I sing the man of courage tried, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| O'errun with ignorance and pride, | 8 | ···/˘˘·· |
| Who boldly hunted out disgrace | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| With canker'd mind, and hideous face; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| The first who made (let none deny it) | 9 | ······˘/· |
| The libel-vending rogues be quiet. | 9 | ·/˘/˘··/˘ |
| The fact was glorious, we must own, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| For Hartley was before unknown, | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| Contemn'd I mean;--for who would chuse | 8 | ········ |
| So vile a subject for the Muse? | 8 | ···˘/··· |
| 'Twas once the noblest of his wishes | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| To fill his paunch with scraps from dishes, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| For which he'd parch before the grate, | 8 | ········ |
| Or wind the jack's slow-rising weight, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| (Such toils as best his talents fit,) | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Or polish shoes, or turn the spit; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But, unexpectedly grown rich in | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Squire Domvile's family and kitchen, | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| He pants to eternize his name, | 8 | ···˘/˘·· |
| And takes the dirty road to fame; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Believes that persecuting wit | 8 | ˘/·/˘·˘· |
| Will prove the surest way to it; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| So with a colonel at his back, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The Libel feels his first attack; | 8 | ·/˘···˘/ |
| He calls it a seditious paper, | 9 | ····˘/˘/˘ |
| Writ by another patriot Drapier; | 9 | ··˘/˘/˘·· |
| Then raves and blunders nonsense thicker | 9 | ···/˘/˘/˘ |
| Than alderman o'ercharged with liquor: | 9 | ·/˘˘···/˘ |
| And all this with design, no doubt, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| To hear his praises hawk'd about; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To send his name through every street, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Which erst he roam'd with dirty feet; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Well pleased to live in future times, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Though but in keen satiric rhymes. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| So, Ajax, who, for aught we know, | 8 | ·/······ |
| Was justice many years ago, | 8 | ·/˘/˘·˘/ |
| And minding then no earthly things, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| But killing libellers of kings; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Or if he wanted work to do, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To run a bawling news-boy through; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yet he, when wrapp'd up in a cloud, | 8 | ········ |
| Entreated father Jove aloud, | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Only in light to show his face, | 8 | /˘······ |
| Though it might tend to his disgrace. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And so the Ephesian villain fired | 9 | ···˘/˘/˘/ |
| The temple which the world admired, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| Contemning death, despising shame, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| To gain an ever-odious name. | 8 | ···//˘˘· |
| Harrington's regiment of dragoons, who made a news-boy evidence against | 16 | /˘/˘········/˘·· |
Notes from the edition 2
The notes to the Poems of Jonathan Swift, Volume II (Project Gutenberg #13621).
- Stanza 2, line 23 Colonel Ker, a Scotchman, lieutenant-colonel to Lord Harrington's regiment of dragoons, who made a news-boy evidence against The printer.--F.
- Stanza 2, line 45 Herostratus, who set fire to the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, 356 B.C.--W. E. B.
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