Note 198 — REV. JAMES HERVEY, M.A., THE LITERARY PARISH-PRIEST. (continued 2)
Reading edition
Mr. Nixon was a man of considerable learning; but not a poet. The following are his limping lines:—
“Williams! ’tis yours to bid the canvas wear, By art illusive, Hervey’s form and air; Oh! with like happy labour, could I trace Each virtue, each exalted Christian grace, Each heavenly gift with which his soul is blest, And fix the bright assemblage in my breast; Then how transcendent far would be my plan, You paint his mimic shade: I’d live the man.”