XVII.

I'll trounce 'em!-there's the square-cut chancellor,
His son shall never touch that bishopric;
And for the nephew of old Palfior,

I'll show him that his speeches made me sick,
And give the colonelcy to Phalaric;
The tiptoe marquis, moral and gallant,
Shall lodge in shabby taverns upon tick;

And for the Speaker's second cousin's aunt,

She shan't be maid of honour,- by heaven that she shan't!

XVIII.

"I'll shirk the Duke of A.; I'll cut his brother, I'll give no garter to his eldest son;

I won't speak to his sister or his mother.
The Viscount B. shall live at cut-and-run;
But how in the world can I contrive to stun
That fellow's voice, which plagues me worse

than any,

That stubborn fool, that impudent state-dun, Who sets down ev'ry sovereign as a zany,That vulgar commoner, Esquire Biancopany?

XIX.

"Monstrous affair! Pshaw! pah! what ugly minx
Will they fetch from Imaus for my bride?
Alas! my wearied heart within me sinks,
To think that I must be so near allied
To a cold dullard fay,-ah, woe betide!
Ah, fairest of all human loveliness!
Sweet Bertha! what crime can it be to glide
About the fragrant plaitings of thy dress,

Or kiss thine eyes, or count thy locks, tress after tress ? "

XX.

So said, one minute's while his eyes remain'd Half lidded, piteous, languid, innocent; But, in a wink, their splendour they regain'd, Sparkling revenge with amorous fury blent. Love thwarted in bad temper oft has vent: He rose, he stampt his foot, he rang the bell, And order'd some death-warrants to be sent For signature:-somewhere the tempest fell, As many a poor fellow does not live to tell.

XXI.

"At the same time, Eban,"-(this was his page, A fay of colour, slave from top to toe, Sent as a present, while yet under age, From the Viceroy of Zanguebar,—wise, slow His speech, his only words were "yes" and "no," But swift of look and foot and wing was he),— "At the same time, Eban, this instant go To Hum the soothsayer, whose name I see Among the fresh arrivals in our empery.

XXII.

"Bring Hum to me! But stay-here, take my ring, The pledge of favour, that he not suspect Any foul play, or awkward murdering, Tho' I have bowstrung many of his sect; Throw in a hint, that if he should neglect One hour the next shall see him in my grasp, And the next after that shall see him neck'd, Or swallow'd by my hunger-starved asp,And mention ('tis as well) the torture of the wasp."

XXIII.

These orders given, the Prince, in half a pet,
Let o'er the silk his propping elbow slide,
Caught up his little legs, and, in a fret,
Fell on the sofa on his royal side.

The slave retreated backwards, humble-eyed,
And with a slave-like silence closed the door,
And to old Hum thro' street and alley hied;
He knew the city," as we say, of yore,

66

And for short cuts and turns, was nobody knew more.

XXIV.

It was the time when wholesale dealers close Their shutters with a moody sense of wealth, But retail dealers, diligent, let loose

The gas (objected to on score of health), Convey'd in little solder'd pipes by stealth, And make it flare in many a brilliant form, That all the powers of darkness it repell'th, Which to the oil-trade doth great scaith and harm, And supersedeth quite the use of the glow-worm.

XXV.

Eban, untempted by the pastrycooks

(Of pastry he got store within the palace), With hasty steps, wrapp'd cloak, and solemn looks, Incognito upon his errand sallies,

His smelling-bottle ready for the alleys; He pass'd the hurdygurdies with disdain, Vowing he'd have them sent on board the galleys; Just as he made his vow it 'gan to rain, Therefore he call'd a coach, and bade it drive amain.

XXVI.

"I'll pull the string," said he, and further said, "Polluted jarvey! Ah, thou filthy hack! Whose springs of life are all dried up and dead, Whose linsey-woolsey lining hangs all slack, Whose rug is straw, whose wholeness is a crack'; And evermore thy steps go clatter-clitter; Whose glass once up can never be got back, Who prov'st, with jolting arguments and bitter, That 'tis of modern use to travel in a litter.

XXVII.

"Thou inconvenience! thou hungry crop For all corn! thou snail-creeper to and fro, Who while thou goest ever seem'st to stop And fiddle-faddle standest while you go; I' the morning, freighted with a weight of woe, Unto some lazar-house thou journeyest, And in the evening tak'st a double row Of dowdies, for some dance or party drest, Besides the goods meanwhile thou movest east and west.

XXVIII.

"By thy ungallant bearing and sad mien, An inch appears the utmost thou couldst budge; Yet at the slightest nod, or hint, or sign, Round to the curb-stone patient dost thou trudge, School'd in a beckon, learned in a nudge, A dull-eyed Argus watching for a fare; Quiet and plodding, thou dost bear no grudge To whisking tilburies or phaetons rare, Curricles, or mail-coaches, swift beyond compare."

XXIX.

Philosophizing thus, he pull'd the check
And bade the coachman wheel to such a street,
Who, turning much his body, more his neck,
Louted full low, and hoarsely did him greet:
"Certes, monsieur were best take to his feet,
Seeing his servant can no further drive

For press of coaches, that to-night here meet, Many as bees about a straw-capp'd hive, When first for April honey into faint flowers they dive."

XXX.

Eban then paid his fare, and tiptoe went.
To Hum's hotel; and, as he on did pass
With head inclined, each dusky lineament
Show'd in the pearl-paved street, as in a glass;
His purple vest, that ever peeping was
Rich from the fluttering crimson of his cloak,
His silvery trowsers, and his silken sash,

Tied in a burnish'd knot, their semblance took Upon the mirror'd walls, wherever he might look.

XXXI.

He smiled at self, and, smiling, show'd his teeth, And seeing his white teeth, he smiled the more; Lifted his eye-brows, spurn'd the path beneath, Show'd teeth again, and smiled as heretofore, Until he knock'd at the magician's door; Where, till the porter answer'd, might be seen, In the clear panel more he could adore,His turban wreath'd of gold, and white, and green, Mustachios, ear-ring, nose-ring, and his sabre keen. VOL. III. 27