"I say "-quoth Royalty, who rather
Enjoyed a masquerading joke—
"I say, suppose, my good old father,
You lend me, for a while, your cloak."

The Friar consented-little knew

What tricks the youth had in his head; Besides, was rather tempted too

By a laced coat he got in stead.

Away ran Royalty, slap-dash

Scamp'ring like mad about the town; Broke windows, shivered lamps to smash,

And knocked whole scores of watchmen down.

While nought could they, whose heads were broke Learn of the "why" or the "wherefore,”

Except that 'twas Religion's cloak,

The gentleman who cracked them, wore.

Meanwhile, the Friar whose head was turned
By the laced coat, grew frisky too;
Looked big-his former habits spurned-
And stormed about, as great men do:

Dealt much in pompous oaths and curses-
Said "d-mn you" often, or as bad-
Laid claim to other people's purses-
In short, grew either knave, or mad.

As work like this was unbefitting,

And flesh and blood no longer bore it,
The Court of Common Sense, then sitting,
Summoned the culprits both before it.

Where, after hours in wrangling spent
(As Courts must wrangle to decide well,)
Religion to St. Luke's was sent,

And Royalty packed off to Bridewell.

With this proviso-should they be

Restored, in due time, to their senses,

They both must give security,

In future, against such offences—

Religion ne'er to lend his cloak,

Seeing what dreadful work it leads to;

And Royalty to crack his joke,—

But not to crack poor people's heads too.

FABLE VI.

THE LITTLE GRAND LAMA.

PROEM.

NOVELLA, a young Bolognese,

The daughter of a learned Law Doctor,*
Who had with all the subtleties

Of old and modern jurists stocked her,
Was so exceeding fair, 'tis said,

And over hearts held such dominion,
That when her father, sick in bed,
Or busy, sent her, in his stead,

To lecture on the Code Justinian,

She had a curtain drawn before her,

Lest, if her charms were seen, the students
Should let their young eyes wander o'er her,
And quite forget their jurisprudence.+
Just so it is with Truth, when seen,

Too fair and bright,-'tis from behind

A light, thin allegoric screen,

She thus can safest teach mankind.

* Andreas.

FABLE.

In Thibet once there reigned, we're told,
A little Lama, one year old-

Raised to the throne, that realm to bless,
Just when his little Holiness

Had cut-as near as can be reckoned-
Some say his first tooth, some his second.
Chronologers and Nurses vary,
Which proves historians should be wary.
We only know the important truth,
His Majesty had cut a tooth.‡

And much his subjects were enchanted,-
As well all Lama's subjects may be,
And would have given their heads, if wanted,
To make tee-totums for the baby.
As he was there by Right Divine-
(What Lawyers call Jure Divino,
Meaning a right to yours, and mine,

And everybody's goods and rhino,)
Of course, his faithful subjects' purses

+ Quand il étoit occupé d'aucune essoine, il envoyoit Novelle, sa fille, en son lieu lire aux escholes en charge, et, afin que la biaüté d'elle n'empêchât la pensée des oyants, elle avoit une petite courtine devant elle.-Christ. de Pise, Cité des Dames, p. 11. cap. 36.,

See Turner's Embassy to Thibet for an account of his interview with the Lama. "Teshoo Lama (he says) was at this time eighteen months old. Though he was unable to speak a word, he made the most expressive signs, and conducted himself with astonishing dignity and decorum.”

Were ready with their aids and succours;
Nothing was seen but pensioned Nurses,
And the land groaned with bibs and tuckers,
Oh! had there been a Hume or Bennet,
Then sitting in the Thibet Senate,
Ye Gods, what room for long debates
Upon the Nursery Estimates!

What cutting down of swaddling-clothes
And pin-a-fores, in nightly battles!
What calls for papers to expose

The waste of sugar-plums and rattles!
But no-if Thibet had M. P.'s,
They were far better bred than these ;
Nor gave the slightest opposition,
During the Monarch's whole dentition.
But short this calm ;-for, just when he
Had reached the alarming age of three,
When Royal natures, and, no doubt,
Those of all noble beasts break out-
The Lama, who till then was quiet,
Showed symptoms of a taste for riot;
And, ripe for mischief, early, late,
Without regard for Church or State,
Made free with whosoe'er came nigh;

Tweaked the Lord Chancellor by the nose, Turned all the Judges' wigs awry,

And trod on the old Generals' toes:

Pelted the Bishops with hot buns,
Rode cockhorse on the City maces,

And shot from little devilish

guns,

Hard peas into his subjects' faces.
In short, such wicked pranks he played,
And grew so mischievous, God bless him!
That his Chief Nurse-though with the aid
Of an Archbishop-was afraid,

When in these moods, to comb or dress him, And even the persons most inclined

For Kings through thick and thin to stickle, Thought him (if they'd but speak their mind. Which they did not) an odious pickle.

At length some patriot Lords-a breed
Of animals they have in Thibet,
Extremely rare, and fit, indeed,

For folks like Pidcock, to exhibit-
Some patriot lords, seeing the length

To which things went, combined their strength,
And penned a manly, plain and free
Remonstrance to the Nursery ;

In which protesting that they yielded
To none, that ever went before 'em,

In loyalty to him who wielded

The hereditary pap-spoon o'er 'em ; That, as for treason, 'twas a thing

That made them almost sick to think of— That they and theirs stood by the King, Throughout his measles and his chin-cough, When others, thinking him consumptive, Had ratted to the Heir Presumptive!But, still-though much admiring Kings (And chiefly those in leading-strings), They saw, with shame and grief of soul, There was no longer now the wise And constitutional control

Of birch before their ruler's eyes;
But that, of late, such pranks, and tricks,
And freaks occurred the whole day long,
As all, but men with bishopricks,

Allowed, in even a King, were wrong.
Wherefore it was they humbly prayed
That Honourable Nursery,
That such reforms be henceforth made,
As all good men desired to see;-
In other words (lest they might seem
Too tedious), as the gentlest scheme
For putting all such pranks to rest,

And in its bud the mischief nipping-
They ventured humbly to suggest

His Majesty should have a whipping!

When this was read, no Congreve rocket,
Discharged into the Gallic trenches,
E'er equalled the tremendous shock it
Produced upon the Nursery benches.
The Bishops, who of course had votes,
By right of age and petticoats,
Were first and foremost in the fuss-
"What, whip a Lama! suffer birch
To touch his sacred infamous !

Deistical assailing thus

The fundamentals of the Church!-
No-no-such patriot plans as these,
(So help them Heaven-and their Sees !)
They held to be rank blasphemies."

The alarm thus given, by these and other
Grave ladies of the Nursery side,
Spread through the land, till, such a pother,
Such party squabbles, far and wide,,
Never in history's page had been
Recorded, as were then between

The Whippers and Non-whippers seen.

Till, things arriving at a state,

Which gave some fears of revolution,

The patriot lords' advice, though late,
Was put at last in execution,
The Parliament of Thibet met-

The little Lama, called before it,
Did, then and there, his whipping get,
And (as the Nursery Gazette

Assures us) like a hero bore it.

And though, 'mong Thibet Tories, some
Lament that Royal martyrdom
(Please to observe, the letter D

In this last word's pronounced like B),
Yet to the example of that Prince

So much is Thibet's land a debtor,

That her long line of Lamas, since,

Have all behaved themselves much better.

FABLE VII.

THE EXTINGUISHERS.

PROEM.

THOUGH Soldiers are the true supports,
The natural allies of Courts,

Woe to the Monarch, who depends
Too much on his red-coated friends;

For even soldiers sometimes think

Nay, Colonels have been known to reason,

And reasoners, whether clad in pink,

Or red, or blue, are on the brink

(Nine cases out of ten) of treason.

Not many soldiers, I believe, are
As fond of liberty as Mina;

Else-woe to kings, when Freedom's fever
Once turns into a Scarletina!

For then-but hold 'tis best to veil

My meaning in the following tale :

FABLE.

A Lord of Persia, rich and great,

Just come into a large estate,

Was shocked to find he had, for neighbours,

Close to his gate, some rascal Ghebers,

Whose fires, beneath his very nose,

In heretic combustion rose.

But Lords of Persia can, no doubt,

Do what they will-so, one fine morning,

He turned the rascal Ghebers out,

First giving a few kicks for warning. Then, thanking Heaven most piously, He knocked their Temple to the ground,