Truth in Fiction Or, Morality in Masquerade. A Collection of Two hundred twenty five Select Fables of Aesop, and other Authors. Done into English Verse. By Edmund Arwaker |
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 | Truth in Fiction |  |
Two
Cocks, that on a Dunghil sought to reign,
Did, for the Empire, daily War maintain;
Often they strove which shou'd his Foe destroy,
And the Seraglio of Hens enjoy:
'Till the first Lord of the rich Soil, by Fate
Compell'd to yield, was forc'd to Abdicate:
Asham'd thereat, he soon retir'd from Sight,
And durst no more appear to claim his Right.
Did, for the Empire, daily War maintain;
Often they strove which shou'd his Foe destroy,
And the Seraglio of Hens enjoy:
'Till the first Lord of the rich Soil, by Fate
Compell'd to yield, was forc'd to Abdicate:
Asham'd thereat, he soon retir'd from Sight,
And durst no more appear to claim his Right.
The happy Victor, of his Conquest proud,
Proclaims his Triumph to the World aloud:
Mounts the House-top, and claps his joyful Wings,
And, with rais'd Crest, three Iö Bæans sings.
But while thus haughty, thus with Trophies pleas'd,
An Eagle saw him, and the Boaster seiz'd;
Then with her Captive to her Airy flew,
And for her Young, the wretched Victim slew.
His vanquish'd Rival, who beheld his Fate,
Recall'd his Courage, and return'd in State;
Was Recogniz'd, resum'd his Rightful Throne,
And Trod the Dunghil, and the Hens, alone,
Proclaims his Triumph to the World aloud:
Mounts the House-top, and claps his joyful Wings,
And, with rais'd Crest, three Iö Bæans sings.
But while thus haughty, thus with Trophies pleas'd,
An Eagle saw him, and the Boaster seiz'd;
Then with her Captive to her Airy flew,
And for her Young, the wretched Victim slew.
His vanquish'd Rival, who beheld his Fate,
Recall'd his Courage, and return'd in State;
Was Recogniz'd, resum'd his Rightful Throne,
And Trod the Dunghil, and the Hens, alone,
| Truth in Fiction | |