THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC.
A GASTRONOMICAL CHAUNT.
Sunt Aries, Taurus, Cancer, Leo, Scorpio, Virgo, Libraque et Arcitenens, Gemini, Caper, Amphora, Pisces.
I. Of a tavern the Sun every month takes "the run," And a dozen each year wait his wishes; One month with old Prout he takes share of a trout, And puts up at the sign of The Fishes. ♓ 'Tis an old-fashioned inn, but more quiet within Than The Bull♉ or The Lion♌ —both boisterous; And few would fain dwell at The Scorpion ♏-hôtel, Or The Crab ♋...But this last is an oyster-house.
II. At the sign of The Scales ♎fuller measure prevails; At The Ram ♈ the repast may be richer: Old Goëthe oft wrote at the sign of The Goat, ♑ Tho' at times he'd drop in at The Pitcher; ♒ And those who have stay'd at the sign of The Maid, ♍ In desirable quarters have tarried; While some for their sins must put up with The Twins, ♊ Having had the mishap to get married.
III. But The Fishes ♓ combine in one mystical sign A moral right apt for the banquet; And a practical hint, which I ne'er saw in print, Yet a Rochefoucault maxim I rank it:— If a secret I'd hide, or a project confide, To a comrade's good faith and devotion, Oh! the friend whom I'd wish, though he drank like a fish, Should be mute as the tribes of the ocean.