“Winchester, July 15, 1817.
“When Winchester races first took their beginning
’Tis said that the people forgot their old saint,
That they never applied for the leave of St. Swithun,
And that William of Wykeham’s approval was faint.
“The races however were fixed and determined,
The company met, and the weather was charming;
The lords and the ladies were satined and ermined,
And nobody saw any future alarming.
“But when the old saint was informed of their doings,