Cromwell by Alfred B. Richards
page 48 of 186 (25%)
page 48 of 186 (25%)
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Upon the corpse of her own buried greatness.
_Crom._ Doubtless thou hast seen much to fill thy mind With such disgust. _Arth._ Good, sir! I did scarce feel it, Till I return'd. _Will._ Nay, sir! I do remember as we stood in the mouldy big Circus, having sundry of the lousy population idling within, whereby I did then liken it to a venerable cheese, in which is some faint stir of maggotry, that thou didst make a memorable speech against the land, where the only vocation of a nobleman is to defile the streets and be pimp to his own wife. _Arth._ Cease, cease, yet there is truth in what he says. _Crom._ Yet are there not amends in poetry, Art, science, and a thousand delicate thoughts Glowing on canvass, chisell'd in cold forms, The marbled dreams of sculptor's classic brain? Milton hath told of these. _Arth._ Alas! 'tis but Corruption's gilding. 'Tis the trick of vice Full oft to pander in a graceful form; But when the finer chords of hearts are set In eyes glued to a dancer's feet, or ears Strain'd to the rapture of a squeaking fiddle, |
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