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LXXXIII.

He saw, however, at the closing session,

That noble sight, when really free the nation,
A king in constitutional possession

Of such a throne as is the proudest station,
Though despots know it not-till the progression
Of freedom shall complete their education.
"Tis not mere splendor makes the show august
To eye or heart-it is the people's trust.
LXXXIV.

There too he saw (whate'er he may be now)
A prince, the prince of princes, at the time,
With fascination in his very bow,

And full of promise, as the spring of prime.
Though royalty was written on his brow,

He had then the grace too, rare in every clime,
Of being, without alloy of fop or beau,
A finish'd gentleman from top to toe.
LXXXV.

And Juan was received, as hath been said,
Into the best society: and there
Occur'd what often happens, I'm afraid,
However disciplined and debonnaire :
The talent and good humor he display'd,

Besides the mark'd distinction of his air,
Exposed him, as was natural, to temptation,
Even though himself avoided the occasion.

LXXXVI.

[why,

CANTO XIII.

I.

I NOW mean to be serious ;-it is time,
Since laughter now-a-days is deem'd too serious.
A jest at vice by virtue's call'd a crime,
And critically held as deleterious:
Besides, the sad's a source of the sublime,
Although when long a little apt to weary us;
And therefore shall my lay soar high and solemn,
As an old temple dwindled to a column.

II.

The Lady Adeline Amundeville

('Tis an old Norman name, and to be found
In pedigrees by those who wander still
Along the last fields of that Gothic ground)
Was high-born, wealthy by her father's will,
And beauteous, even where beauties most abound,
In Britain-which of course true patriots find
The goodliest soil of body and of mind.

III.

But what, and where, with whom, and when, and I'll not gainsay them; it is not my cue:
Is not to be put hastily together;
And as my object is morality,

(Whatever people say,) I don't know whether I'll leave a single reader's eyelid dry,

But harrow up his feelings till they wither, And hew out a huge monument of pathos, As Philip's son proposed to do with Athos." LXXXVII.

Here the twelfth canto of our introduction

Ends. When the body of the book's begun, You'll find it of a different construction

From what some people say 'twill be when done: The plan at present's simply in concoction.

I can't oblige you, reader, to read on;

That's your affair, not mine: a real spirit

I leave them to their taste, no doubt the best:
An eye's an eye, and whether black or blue,
Is no great matter, so 'tis in request:
'Tis nonsense to dispute about a hue-

The kindest may be taken as a test.
The fair sex should be always fair; and no man
Till thirty, should perceive there's a plain woman.
IV.

And after that serene and somewhat dull

Epoch, that awkward corner turn'd for days More quiet, when our moon's no more at full, We may presume to criticise or praise; Because indifference begins to lull

Our passions, and we walk in wisdom's ways; Also because the figure and the face

Should neither court neglect, nor dread to bear it ;- Hint, that 'tis time to give the younger place.

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