free-verse12 lines
Epigram On Hearing A Parson Read Very Badly A Sermon He Had Bought
by Thomas OldhamThat sermon, reverend Sir, which you have bought,
To save your idle brain the toil of thought,
You read in such a dull, lethargic tone,
It seems almost as stupid as your own.
* * * * *
Pursefull's a stickler for the law's abuse:
To him, 'tis clear, it was of sterling use.
* * * * *
Pursefull still advocates the law's abuse.
What moralist can gratitude condemn?
They, formerly, have done so much for him;
Ought he not, now, to do his best for them?