May 19th. I have promised to pay for the painting of them twice over,& to have the Lyon gilded. pd. 9d for ale . The following short Poem  I received to day, which for the extraordinary Genius & Sublime fancies of the Author deserves a place in this Diary I could not know who the Author is, haveing no name to it, it is writt [the wording from here to the end of this entry is copied – with the addition of some WB spelling mistakes – from The Gentleman's Magazine Volume VII, except for 'who that famous Painter is, doth not likewise appear. ' sw] to a Gentleman in Cambridge on two celebrated pieces of his Paintings Viz, a Battle of Alexander, and a Landskip . who that famous Painter is, doth not likewise appear.

Forgive the Muse, proud to illude your time,

And press the soft impertinence of Rhyme.

Accept a Praise that scorns the Venal part,

Nor prostitutes to yours the Sister Art.

But with much Zeal ’tis fatal to commend;

How hard to praise, & to preserve the Friend!

Blest Youth! to whom the generous Arts are known;

Who singly seem unconscious of your own:

To whom renew'd exhausted ages roll,

While all th’ Illustrious Dead enlarge your Soul:

To whom Fair Italy unlocke’d her Store

And spread the Treasures of the Classick shore:

All that fam’d Raphael drew, or Maro taught;

The wondrous Pencil, and the Poet's thought;

The learn'd Inscription sanctified in Rust,

The breathing Canvas, and Corinthian Bust;

The Venerable Urn, the little Lar,

Preserve'd thro' Time's wild Waste, and Gothick war;

The Valu'd Manuscript, the Sainted bone,

Instructive Medal, and Historick Stone;

Great Appius' work thro' ages unimpair'd,

And Obelisks to graduall wonder rear'd:

Vast Catacombs conceal'd in Earth, to Vie

With Amphitheatres that mate the sky;

Soft Venus' form in smiling Marble shown,

And Cæser's frown that awes the World, in Stone;

The -----