All tokens of memory shun, Those jewels, so tastefully set, Seem hut to remind you of one, Whom now 'tis your task to forget. In frightful effulgence they gleam, No longer imparting a grace; Like the vest of Alcides, they seem To poison the form they embrace. You smile at expressions like these, At wisdom so threadbare and poor: And ask, since she sees the disease, If Wisdom can point out a cure. Ah no! such a cure is unknown; A theme too well known I pursue: I once had a heart like your own — I once was a Lover, like you. With an eye, while I write, filled with tears, At the long-faded passion of youth; I look thro' a vista of years, And scarcely believe it a truth. Yet, tho' Love's enchantment I miss, Mild Reason her solace has lent: I shrink from the Palace of Bliss, To thrive in the Vale of Content." 150 CHAPTER VI. DOCTOR SAMUEL PARR, LL.D. This celebrated Greek scholar and eminent critic was born at Harrow-on-the-Hill, in 1746. He was educated at Harrow, and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. In 1769, he entered into orders. He established a school at Stanmore, and superintended schools in Colchester and Norwich, before he obtained the rectory at Asterby, in 1780; and a prebend's stall in the cathedral of St. Paul, in 1781. The perpetual curacy of Hatton, near Norwich, was conferred on him in 1785. In 1791, the riots at Birmingham, which proved destructive to the property of Dr. Priestley, extended to Hatton, and the property of Dr. Parr, on account of his friendship with Dr. Priestley, and his own liberal principles, was endangered. The following year, Dr. Parr exchanged his perpetual curacy at Hatton for a rectory in Northamptonshire. Early in 1793, he began to contribute to "The British Critic," and later wrote much in "The Classical Journal." In 1802, Sir Francis Burdett presented him to the rectory of Graffham, in Huntingdonshire. The Doctor's strong Whiggish principles, when Mr. Fox came into power, it is said, weighed down the merits of his erudition and theological acquirements in the estimation of the King, and prevented a bishopric being given him. He died in March, 1825, in his eightieth year, like the celebrated linguist and scholar, Mezzofanti, leaving behind few records of his vast erudition. All the remains of Dr. Parr are comprised in a collection of Sermons, " A Tract on Education, and the plans pursued by Charity Schools," 4to., 1786. A Preface to Bellendenus de Statu, and "A Letter from Irenopolis to the Inhabitants of Eleutheropalis, or a Serious Address to the Inhabitants of Birmingham," in 1792. "Character of the. late Charles James Fox, by Philopatris Varvicensis," 2 vols. 8vo. 1809; and some ephemeral pamphlets, occasioned by his critical disputes and controversies with Dr. Charles Combe and others. Of Bentley's feuds—of Porson's—Parr's few remains are left; and mankind would be nothing the worse if their battles had never been waged at all. Dr. Panwas renowned for his smoking, even more than Dr. Isaac Barrow. He would empty twenty pipes of an evening, in his own house; and when he was on his good behaviour in fashionable circles, it is said, he pined after the weed. About two years before his death, he was introduced by Mr. Pettigrew to Lady Blessington, and was so charmed by her appearance, manners, and conversation, that he would willingly, at any time, have relinquished his pipe ever after, for the pleasure of her society. After the first intemew, he spoke to Mr. Pettigrew of her as "the gorgeous Lady Blessington." FROM DR. PARR TO LADY BLESSINGTON. "Ilatton, January 26, 1822. "May it please your Ladyship to accept the tribute of my best thanks for the present of a gorgeous cake, which does equal honour to your courtesy and your taste. It reached me last night. It seized the admiration of my wife, and two Oxford friends. They gazed upon its magnitude. They eulogized the colouring and the gilding of the figures with raptures. They listened gladly to the tales which I told about the beautiful, ingenious, and noble donor. I perceive that your Ladyship's gift was sent by the Crown Prince coach, which I had pointed out, and upon which I depend chiefly. My wife and my cook, and her auxiliary, are waiting, with some anxiety, for a magnificent turbot, with which Lord Blessington intends to decorate the banquet. "You may be assured that grateful and honourable mention of your names will be made in our toasts. I shall write to Lord Blessington when I know the fate of the fish. "As it did not come by the Crown Prince, possibly it maj be conveyed by the mail, which passes my door about nine, or by the Liverpool, which passes about the middle of the day. "My village peal of eight bells is ringing merrily, and I wish that you and Lord Blessington were here, the witnesses of their music. "I probably shall visit the capital in the spring, and with the permission of your Ladyship and Lord Blessington, I shall pay my personal compliments to you, in St. James's Square. "I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, "S. Pare." "January 27, 1822. "Ingenious And Hongured Lady Blessington, "Accept my praise as a critic, and my best thanks as a well-wisher, for the honour which you have done me, in sending me a most elegant poetical congratulation on the return of the anniversary of my birth-day. Lady Blessington, I have ventured to impress three kisses upon the precious communication, and I will order it to be preserved among my papers, as a memorial of your Ladyship's taste and courtesy. The cake, from its magnitude and its richness, would have adorned the table of a cardinal. Be assured, Lady Blessington, that not only was your name pronounced in the second toast, with that of the Duke of Sussex, and some other contributors to the dainties, but that I took an opportunity to speak about the gracefulness of jour person and the lustre of your talents. I hope in the spring, that we shall meet together, and talk about many interesting subjects, which must present themselves to our minds. "Soon after the conclusion of my first letter, another coach brought me Lord Blessington's magnificent turbot, and a very eminent scholar bestowed a classical eulogium on the— "• Spatium admirabili rhombi.' "Lord Blessington will tell you that the expression occurs in the fourth satire of Juvenal; and if you have a translation, pray amuse yourself with an account of Domitian's feast, and his guests and his wicked nature, when a huge fish had been presented to him, and he had summoned his trembling companions to the banquet. I am sure that Lord Blessington will like to refresh his memory, and after certain military outrages at Manchester, Hyde Park Corner, and Kensington, I shall applaud his Lordship for committing to memory the whole sixteenth satire of Juvenal. The composition is less adorned than many of the other satires. But his Lordship may take my word for it, that it came from the pen of Juvenal, and there will be found in it abundance of matter applicable to the odious and alarming occurrences which disgrace the government of the English Sardanapalus. Pray tell my Lord, that with allusion to the notorious voluptuary, a friend of his Lordship has put together a most proper and most poignant epitaph for George the Fourth. Give my best compliments to your lively sister, and permit me to have the honour to subscribe myself, "Dear Madam, your faithful well-wisher, "And respectful, obedient servant, "S. Parr." LETTER FROM MISS EMILY CALCRAFT TO LADY BLESSINGTON, In Relation To Dr. Parr. "Dear Lady Blessington, "I have the pleasure to send you Mr. Horseman's excellent parody of a libel on Dr. Parr, together with his letter, and the Doctor's prompt and courteous reply. I beg you will ex |