Who then wad wish to be a Mayor,
Recorder, or Town Clerk, sir?
To serve in office, send me there,
To hear each sage remark, sir;
And O, indeed, I fear it much,
Their like there never will be, sir—
No, never, never more be such
An Herbage Committee, sir.
[53] The Committee were—William Martin, William Miekle, William Maggall, James Calbreath, Charles Stephenson, the Author, William Wanless, William Angus, and William Garrett. Their activity and unanimity were proverbial.
THE BEAR CLUB.
Good dinners to our noble Queen,
And many may she see, sir,
And much I wish she could have seen
The Bear-club Committee, sir:
Her cooks, no doubt, with skill refin'd,
Have cater'd long with care, sir,
But much, I doubt, they ever din'd
Her Majesty of Bears, sir.
'Tis said the Kings of India
Can eat some pretty things, sir;
You need not go so far away
To see the Indian Kings, sir:
The landlord there can at his call
Serve up some pleasant fare, sir—
Mac now has clean eclipsed them all,
And made us eat a Bear, sir.
Some talk about the Esquimaux,
And tell of Cherokees, sir,
Hottentots and Marathas,
And folks in the South Seas, sir;
'Tis said they sometimes cut a swell
In dishes odd and rare, sir,
But we from them will bear the bell,
For we have eat a Bear, sir.
All times have had their men of taste,
Each passing age adorning,
Who, rather than good stuff should waste,
Would eat from night till morning:
To us they must knock under now—
We've given them a scare, sir;
They all could eat a sheep or so,
But we can eat a Bear, sir.
Now as you chance to walk the street,
How every dog will run, sir,
Lest you should roast him for a treat,
And eat him up in fun, sir;
The Quayside horses, loaded well,
Will scamper off like hares, sir,
To see, not Bears all eating men,
But men all eating Bears, sir.
The next time, sir, you eat a Bear,
Grant this my supplication—
Invite to dine our canny Mayor,
And hungry Corporation;
In seeking for a friend like you,
They're looking lean and spare, sir,
So in compassion send them now
The fragments of the Bear, sir.