Even where, as in the first, the poem is intended to convey a personal expression of gratitude for Vergil's exemption from harsh evictions, the poet is very careful not to obtrude a picture of himself or his own circumstances.

Hearing the measured footsteps of Terry the Cop, guardian of our destinies, I looked for a swift and painful eviction.

He cites, strangely enough, Ireland, where these moral influences, which are of themselves generally sufficient in England and Scotland, are supplemented by wholesale evictions on one side and murders on the other.