The political and occasional poems of Winthrop Mackworth Praed ::

I was a Tory once, you know,
A king and constitution man;
But that was many years ago,
Before the march of mind began.
'Twas very well to be a dunce
When no one asked me why or how;
I own, I was a Tory once;
But Lord! I'm not a Tory now.

138

The schoolmaster's abroad, you see;
And, when the people hear him speak,
They all insist on being free,
And reading Homer in the Greek;
The Bolton weavers seize the pen,
The Sussex farmers scorn the plough;
One must advance with other men;
And so, I'm not a Tory now.

Look at the papers! There you'll find
The Courier full of Cobbett's taunts;
Lord Palmerston has changed his mind;
And what's become of both the Grants?
How should I hope to stem the storm
Which makes such mighty statesmen bow?
Why, Goderich is for this Reform!
And who would be a Tory now?

And then, the people are stark mad!
They go about with sticks and stones!
And these accounts are very bad
Of broken glass and broken bones;
Poor Cockburn had some shocking hurts;
I never could endure a row;
They tore Sir Roger Gresley's skirts!
No, no, I'm not a Tory now.

You know my nephew—clever youth—
He came last year from Harrow school;

139

He's done a pamphlet which, in truth,
Makes out that I've been quite a fool.
Pray read this little page, about
The healthy trunk and rotten bough;
It proves, beyond the smallest doubt,
No patriot is a Tory now.

I'll introduce you to my wife;
She brought me fifty thousand pounds;
And she's the blessing of my life,
Although she made me cut the hounds.
She reads the Herald every day,
And talks—'twould do you good, I vow;
She's very partial to Lord Grey;
How can I be a Tory now?

Tom wants a living—what of that?
Brougham never heard me urge his claims.
And Hal's appointed to the Rat!
But—Sir! I never asked Sir James.
Oh no! I like the Church and Laws;
And—candidly, you must allow
That I have shown sufficient cause
Why I am not a Tory now.

University of Virginia Library

V. WHY AND WHEREFORE.