Call quickly together the whole tribe of Canters,
Convoke all the serious Tag-rag of the nation;
Bring Shakers and Snufflers and Jumpers and Ranters
To witness their Butterworth's Canonization!
Yea, humbly I've ventured his merits to paint,
Yea, feebly have tried all his gifts to portray,
And they form a sum-total for making a Saint.
That the Devil's own advocate could not gainsay.
Jump high, all ye Jumpers, ye Ranters all roar,
While Butterworth's spirit, upraised from your eyes,
Like a kite made of foolscap, in glory shall soar,
With a long tail of rubbish behind, to the skies!
[1] A great part of the income of Joanna Southcott arose from the Seals of the Lord's protection which she sold to her followers.
[2] Mrs. Anne Lee, the "chosen vessel" of the Shakers, and "Mother of all the children of regeneration."
[3] Toad Lane, in Manchester, where Mother Lee was born. In her "Address to Young Believers," she says, that "it is a matter of no importance with them from whence the means of their deliverance come, whether from a stable in Bethlehem, or from Toad Lane, Manchester."
AN INCANTATION.
SUNG BY THE BUBBLE SPIRIT.
Air.—Come with me, and we will go
Where the rocks of coral grow.
Come with me and we will blow
Lots of bubbles as we go;
Bubbles bright as ever Hope
Drew from fancy—or from soap;
Bright as e'er the South Sea sent
From its frothy element!
Come with me and we will blow
Lots of bubbles as we go.
Mix the lather, Johnny Wilks,
Thou, who rhym'st so well to bilks;[1]
Mix the lather—who can be
Fitter for such tasks than thee,
Great M. P. for _Suds_bury!