"Speak, can the ghost of Conscience haunt thy mind?"
— Wolcot, John, pseud. Peter Pindar, (1738-1819)
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. Evans
Date
1791
Metaphor
"Speak, can the ghost of Conscience haunt thy mind?"
Metaphor in Context
What, Lonsdale, melted down thy ruthless rage?--
With dæmons once thy spirit dar'd engage,
Spat on the mob that Freedom's ensigns bore,
Smil'd at his storm, and mock'd his thunder-roar;
Fac'd keen Contempt, and Murder's sanguine eye,
And horsewhipp'd whining Mercy to her sky.
How art thou sunk! how wither'd!--Lost, I fear,
Where is the Lowther spirit--tell me where?
Speak, can the ghost of Conscience haunt thy mind?
Hear'st thou the call of Death in ev'ry wind?--
Lo, Resolution to thy terror turns,
And o'er the skeleton of Manhood mourns!
Go, Wonder, to Earth's utmost limits fly,
And, say, if aught like this e'er stretch'd thine eye.
With dæmons once thy spirit dar'd engage,
Spat on the mob that Freedom's ensigns bore,
Smil'd at his storm, and mock'd his thunder-roar;
Fac'd keen Contempt, and Murder's sanguine eye,
And horsewhipp'd whining Mercy to her sky.
How art thou sunk! how wither'd!--Lost, I fear,
Where is the Lowther spirit--tell me where?
Speak, can the ghost of Conscience haunt thy mind?
Hear'st thou the call of Death in ev'ry wind?--
Lo, Resolution to thy terror turns,
And o'er the skeleton of Manhood mourns!
Go, Wonder, to Earth's utmost limits fly,
And, say, if aught like this e'er stretch'd thine eye.
Categories
Provenance
Searching "haunt" and "mind" in HDIS (Poetry)
Citation
3 entries in ESTC (1791, 1792).
A Commiserating Epistle to James Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale and Lowther, Lord Lieut. and Cust. Rot. of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: Printed for J. Evans, 1791). <Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Peter Pindar, 4 vols. (London: Printed for Walker and Edwards, 1816).
A Commiserating Epistle to James Lowther, Earl of Lonsdale and Lowther, Lord Lieut. and Cust. Rot. of the Counties of Cumberland and Westmorland. By Peter Pindar, Esq. (London: Printed for J. Evans, 1791). <Link to ECCO>
Text from The Works of Peter Pindar, 4 vols. (London: Printed for Walker and Edwards, 1816).
Date of Entry
06/08/2004
Date of Review
01/23/2009
