Aesop at Court Or, State Fables. Vol. I [by Thomas Yalden] |
 |
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. | FAB. VII. The Fox and Weazle.
|
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
 | Aesop at Court |  |
18
FAB. VII. The Fox and Weazle.
To the Late Honourable, The Commissioners of the Prize-Office.
A needy
Weazle heretofore,
Very rapacious, lank, and poor:
That had no Place, small comings in,
And liv'd in terror of the Gin;
Nor got a Morsel to his hole,
But what he either beg'd, or stole.
Very rapacious, lank, and poor:
That had no Place, small comings in,
And liv'd in terror of the Gin;
Nor got a Morsel to his hole,
But what he either beg'd, or stole.
One Night a forraging for prey,
He found a Store-house in his way:
Each cranny then he nimbly past,
With lanthorn Jaws, and slender wast;
And made long time his Quarters good,
On slaughter'd Mice, and wheaten Food.
He found a Store-house in his way:
Each cranny then he nimbly past,
With lanthorn Jaws, and slender wast;
And made long time his Quarters good,
On slaughter'd Mice, and wheaten Food.
But growing corpulent and round,
Too small, the widest chink was found:
And now he squees'd and thrust in vain,
For Liberty, and Home again.
Too small, the widest chink was found:
And now he squees'd and thrust in vain,
For Liberty, and Home again.
19
A Fox that chanc'd to Strol that way,
For Meditations sake, or Prey:
Stood grinning at him for a while,
With Roguish Looks, and sneering Smile:
And tho' he shrewdly gave a guess,
Yet ask'd him how, and what's the case;
And why his Weazle-ship wou'd keep,
In durance vile, and play Boh-peep!
For Meditations sake, or Prey:
Stood grinning at him for a while,
With Roguish Looks, and sneering Smile:
And tho' he shrewdly gave a guess,
Yet ask'd him how, and what's the case;
And why his Weazle-ship wou'd keep,
In durance vile, and play Boh-peep!
Quoth he, alack, Sir, I was Lean,
Hagger'd and Poor when I came in:
A Skeleton, meer Skin and Bone!
Tho' now so Gross, and Bulky grown,
That with good Cheer and Dainties Fed,
My A--- is bigger than my Head.
Hagger'd and Poor when I came in:
A Skeleton, meer Skin and Bone!
Tho' now so Gross, and Bulky grown,
That with good Cheer and Dainties Fed,
My A--- is bigger than my Head.
But if a helping Paw you'l lend,
To force a board and serve a Friend:
So fain I wou'd my Bacon save,
I'll kiss your foot, and live your Slave.
To force a board and serve a Friend:
So fain I wou'd my Bacon save,
I'll kiss your foot, and live your Slave.
Quoth Ren, we Doctors hold it best,
After a long debauch to fast:
Then as for discipline 'tis fit,
You take a quantum sufficit.
Slacken with abstinence your Skin,
And you'l return as you got in:
For till each Collop you Refund,
You'r like to quarter in Lobs-pound.
After a long debauch to fast:
Then as for discipline 'tis fit,
You take a quantum sufficit.
Slacken with abstinence your Skin,
And you'l return as you got in:
For till each Collop you Refund,
You'r like to quarter in Lobs-pound.
20
The MORAL.
Cæsar no more in Foreign Camps Expose,
Your sacred life, to Brittains gen'rous Foes:
Thy dread Tribunal now erect at home,
And Arm'd with Vengeance to her rescue come.
Your sacred life, to Brittains gen'rous Foes:
Thy dread Tribunal now erect at home,
And Arm'd with Vengeance to her rescue come.
In Power her basest Enemies remain,
Oppress thy Subjects, and thy Treasures drein:
With Sums immense they raise their Fortunes high,
Tho' Armies starve, and Fleets neglected lie.
Oppress thy Subjects, and thy Treasures drein:
With Sums immense they raise their Fortunes high,
Tho' Armies starve, and Fleets neglected lie.
Bane of the War! Curse of thy Martial Reign!
You share the toil and dangers, they the Gain:
To Justice then the known Offenders bring,
Avenge thy People, and assert the King.
You share the toil and dangers, they the Gain:
To Justice then the known Offenders bring,
Avenge thy People, and assert the King.
| Aesop at Court | |