 | Puss in boots, and the Marquis of Carabas |  |
41
PLATE XII.
Gaily goes the bridal train!
Now the abbey gate they gain,
In the light the lances gleam,
And the royal banners stream;
Sound the trumpets as they go,
Through the portal winding slow!
See in robes young William there,
Gracing all the pageant rare!
By his side his lady-bride
Meets his gaze with love and pride.
There the symbols of his might,
Sceptre, sword, and taper bright;
While the cross is borne behind,
Token of a pious mind;
And to close the train they bring,
In his chair, the stout old king.
And who is this with robe of fur,
That might become an emperor?
Observe how gracefully he greets
The crowd that throng the busy streets!
Whilst ribbon gay and jewelled star
Proclaim his lofty rank afar.
Now the abbey gate they gain,
In the light the lances gleam,
And the royal banners stream;
Sound the trumpets as they go,
Through the portal winding slow!
See in robes young William there,
Gracing all the pageant rare!
By his side his lady-bride
Meets his gaze with love and pride.
There the symbols of his might,
Sceptre, sword, and taper bright;
While the cross is borne behind,
Token of a pious mind;
And to close the train they bring,
In his chair, the stout old king.
42
That might become an emperor?
Observe how gracefully he greets
The crowd that throng the busy streets!
Whilst ribbon gay and jewelled star
Proclaim his lofty rank afar.
'Tis pussy—mark, how grave he bows,
First unto this one, then the other;
And turns from William and his spouse,
To smile on Jacob and his brother.
The people tell how puss's aid
The fortune of his master made;
And gladly hear the king's decree,
That puss prime-minister should be.
So all were pleased except poor Tray,
Who chanced to come in puss's way;
And as our little reader knows
That cat and dog are always foes,
Puss issued straightway his command,
That every dog should leave the land.
Thus, as I trust, in pleasing rhymes
And pleasing pictures, we have told
That wondrous tale of former times,
Our grandsires loved to hear of old.
Like many another curious story,
By Mother Goose or Mother Morey,
There is a useful moral to it,
Which runs, a thread of silver, through it;
'Tis very wise and very good,
And I would tell it—if I could.
I hardly think the tale is true,
My pretty little dears, do you?
First unto this one, then the other;
And turns from William and his spouse,
To smile on Jacob and his brother.
The people tell how puss's aid
The fortune of his master made;
And gladly hear the king's decree,
That puss prime-minister should be.
So all were pleased except poor Tray,
Who chanced to come in puss's way;
And as our little reader knows
That cat and dog are always foes,
Puss issued straightway his command,
That every dog should leave the land.
43
And pleasing pictures, we have told
That wondrous tale of former times,
Our grandsires loved to hear of old.
Like many another curious story,
By Mother Goose or Mother Morey,
There is a useful moral to it,
Which runs, a thread of silver, through it;
'Tis very wise and very good,
And I would tell it—if I could.
I hardly think the tale is true,
My pretty little dears, do you?
| Puss in boots, and the Marquis of Carabas | |