Dryden’s Odes for St. Cecilia’s Day have already been mentioned, and in 1708 Pope was also induced, by Richard Steele, to write an ode for the annual festival. This is acknowledged to be the finest poem of its kind that had appeared since Dryden’s odes were produced. In fact, as Pope himself said, “Many people would like my ode on music better if Dryden had never written on that subject. It was at the request of Mr. Steele that I wrote mine; and not with any thought of rivalling that great man, whose memory I do, and have always reverenced.” Pope chose the mythological story of Orpheus and Eurydice as the theme for his ode; it is too long to quote in full, but the first verse, and last quatrain, will serve as key notes for the parodies which follow. ODE FOR ST. CECILIA’S DAY. Descend ye Nine! descend and sing; The breathing instruments inspire, Wake into voice each silent string, And sweep the sounding lyre! In a sadly pleasing strain Let the warbling lute complain: Let the loud trumpet sound, Till the roofs all around The shrill echoes rebound; While, in more lengthen’d notes and slow, The deep, majestic, solemn organs blow. Hark! the numbers soft and clear Gently steal upon the ear; Now louder, and yet louder rise, And fill with spreading sounds the skies; Exulting in triumph now swell the bold notes, In broken air, trembling, the wild music floats; Till, by degrees, remote and small, The strains decay, And melt away, In a dying, dying fall. * * * * * Of Orpheus now no more let poets tell, To bright Cecilia greater power is given, His numbers raised a shade from hell, Hers lift the soul to heaven. ALEXANDER POPE. ―――― AN ODE TO TOAST-MASTER TOOLE.[42] “Descend, ye Nine!” No common theme is mine―― I sing of thee, O Toole! Bacchus baptised thee in a font of wine, And from the roseate pool Thy face received the sunny tint it wears, And thus illumed (blest face!) a thousand “chairs.”