'THE POET CLOSE.'

CH! botheration! what a perturbation

And exasperation in the Press arose,

At the first mintion of the Queen's intintion

To confer a pinsion on the Poet Close!

There was the True-Blues-Man and the Farthing—

Newsman

All in the confushan fighting cheek by jowl;

And the Whigs and Tories forgett'n their furies

In their indignation and giniral howl!

The TittlerTattle and the Penny-Rattle

Led off the battle with a puny squake,

Whilst the Big-Tin-Kettle and the 'heavy metal'

His hash for to settle took the liberty to spake;—

"Shure'twas most ongracious, not to say owdacious,

And enough to bring the water to their eyes,

To take the loaves and fishes from the chilthren's dishes

And bestow the Royal Bounty in such wise.

"If so be that noble Er-rls and infarior chur-rls

Has parties they don't love and daresen't bate,

Let them squeeze their purses to choke off the curses

And not foist their verses on the Public State!

'Twas worse than jobbery, and a right down robbery,

For to give the ruffian fifty pounds a year,—

Becase the swate nobilities were dhreading his civilities,

And ould Lord Lonsdale in a state of bodily fear.

"Themselves despiting, there was Carlisle writing,

And Brougham inditing of saft-sardering notes,

And Viscount Palmerston a-chuckling at the harm he's

done,

And dipping his fingers in the county votes.—

'Twould be a wrong entirely, to be remimber'd direly,

If the scribbling blackguard on 'the List' was placed,

And should the Legislature support the crature

Then for sartin shure the counthry was disgraced!"

So the papers thunder'd, and the people wonder'd

Whose nose had blunder'd into this hornet's nist;

And the Queen, Heav'n bless her! the Roy'1 Rehdresser,

Struck Close's name out of the Civil List

Och! then, what a rowing and a rubadub-dow-ing

And universal crowing fill'd the air,

With a gin'ral hissing,—but Lord Pam was missing,

And making for the house-top by the garret-stair!