A Century of Parody and Imitation

by Unknown

The Cinder King, hot with desire,

To Brydges Street hied; but the Monarch of Ale,

With uplifted spigot and faucet and pail,

Thus chided the Monarch of Fire:

'Vile tyrant, beware of the ferment I brew;

I rule the roast here, dash the wig o' me!

If, spite of your marriage with Old Drury, you

Come here with your tinderbox, courting the New,

I'll have you indicted for bigamy!'

'"Fire and Ale," by M. G. Lewis, exhibits not only a faithful copy of the spirited, loose, and flowing versification of that singular author, but a very just representation of that mixture of extravagance and jocularity which has impressed most of his writings with the character of a sort of farcical horror.'—Edinburgh Review.