In arguing too, the parson owned his skill, For e'en though vanquished, he could argue still; While words of learned length, and thund'ring sound Amazed the gazing rustics ranged around, And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew, That one small head could carry all he knew.

-Goldsmith, Oliver
  The Deserted Village, l.211^16.

'Twould ring the bells of heaven The widest peal for years, If Parson lost his senses And people came to theirs, And he and they together Knelt down with angry prayers For tamed and shabby tigers And dancing dogs and bears, And wretched, blind, pit ponies, And little hunted hares.

-Hodgson, Ralph
  'Bells of Heaven'.

On his death bed poor Lubin lies: His spouse is in despair. With frequent sobs and mutual cries They both express their care. A different cause, says parson Sly, The same effect may give: Poor Lubin fears, that he shall die: His wife, that he may live.

-Prior, Matthew
  'A ReasonableAffliction'.