"And when repeated losses prov'd,
"The brave embattled hosts betrayed;
"The gloomy tale they heard unmov'd,
"And, smiling, her defeats survey'd.
"No longer then such miscreants join,
"To rob the poor of Common Right;
"Renounce this guilty scheme of thine,
"By other means the town enlight.
"To meddling Majors leave the field,
"Who, deeply skill'd in warlike art,
"The battle-sword can fiercely wield,
"And march their armies 'gainst a Cart.[88]
"The Red Rose gift shall ne'er be seen
"Immur'd in filth, and foul'd by crimes;
"Nor shall the Lancastrian Green,
"Disgrac'd, descend to distant times."
Thus spoke the fierce offended sprite,
Then vanishing, with sullen gloom,
Through the dark realms of dreary night,
He hasten'd to the silent tomb.
The clock struck One, and Sam arose
From off his damp and dewy bed,
And swore he'd ne'er again oppose
What angry JOHN OF GHENT had said.
The Quadrupedes, &c.,
Or, Four-footed Petitioners, against the Sale of Nun's-Green. A Terrestrial Poem. Written by me The Celestial Bard!!
☞I sing of Asses:——(A Motto of my own.)
Two Jack-Asses, (the Father, and his Son,)
Who, after work, on Nun's-Green us'd to run
Exactly like two Bards;—the other day
Stood in a muse;—and then began to bray
With human voice;—For Balaam's breed were they.