A Metrical History of England Or, Recollections, in Rhyme, Of some of the most prominent Features in our National Chronology, from the Landing of Julius Caesar to the Commencement of the Regency, in 1812. In Two Volumes ... By Thomas Dibdin |
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 | A Metrical History of England |  |
[Altho' I am not tired of my task]
Altho' I am not tired of my task,
Yet you may be of reading, then take breath;
And suffer me with due respect to ask,
Wou'd'nt you rather quit this reign,
Of credit lost and tyrant gain,
To read the golden days of great Elizabeth.
Yet you may be of reading, then take breath;
And suffer me with due respect to ask,
Wou'd'nt you rather quit this reign,
Of credit lost and tyrant gain,
To read the golden days of great Elizabeth.
It may be first as well to say,
That Mary chanced to die one day;
If any grieved, it was an undertaker,
Who at her funeral did sigh and sob,
Not for the Queen whose breath did then forsake her,
But, for a brother tradesman got the job.
That Mary chanced to die one day;
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Who at her funeral did sigh and sob,
Not for the Queen whose breath did then forsake her,
But, for a brother tradesman got the job.
Sweet Shakespeare tells us that a rose
“By any other name” would charm the nose:
But Bonner's memory, I fear,
By no means e'er will charm the ear;
His name avails not tho' he turn it
To more appropriate Bishop Burnet;
Or should the badness of the pun amaze,
To make it worse let's call him Bishop Blaze.
“By any other name” would charm the nose:
But Bonner's memory, I fear,
By no means e'er will charm the ear;
His name avails not tho' he turn it
To more appropriate Bishop Burnet;
Or should the badness of the pun amaze,
To make it worse let's call him Bishop Blaze.
| A Metrical History of England | |