The Works of John Hall-Stevenson ... Corrected and Enlarged. With Several Original Poems, Now First Printed, and Explanatory Notes. In Three Volumes |
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 | The Works of John Hall-Stevenson |  |
98
FABLE XIV.
A fox contriv'd, tho' lock'd and barr'd,
—Contrivance was the Fox's trade—
To steal into a Farmer's yard,
A la sourdine, by escalade;
With appetites wicked and loose,
Improv'd by travelling and art,
He suck'd the blood out of a Goose,
Ravish'd a Hen, and broke her heart.
To put an end to these lewd courses,
Before the caitiff was aware,
Surrounding him with all his forces,
The Farmer caught him in a snare.
He studied till he crack'd his brains,
The writers of those times relate,
To find out penalties and pains,
To suit his cruelty and hate;
Revenge will help you at a pinch,
E'en when your parts begin to fail.
To make Volpone die inch by inch,
He tied a fire-brand to his tail.
—Contrivance was the Fox's trade—
To steal into a Farmer's yard,
A la sourdine, by escalade;
With appetites wicked and loose,
Improv'd by travelling and art,
He suck'd the blood out of a Goose,
Ravish'd a Hen, and broke her heart.
To put an end to these lewd courses,
Before the caitiff was aware,
Surrounding him with all his forces,
The Farmer caught him in a snare.
He studied till he crack'd his brains,
The writers of those times relate,
To find out penalties and pains,
To suit his cruelty and hate;
Revenge will help you at a pinch,
E'en when your parts begin to fail.
99
He tied a fire-brand to his tail.
The Fox ran straight to Hodge's corn,
And caus'd as great a conflagration,
As when Wilkes came and blew his horn,
That, like the last trump, rous'd the nation:
Turn'd out of doors with an intention
To get him basted well, and roasted.
What did they get by their invention?
Get! Why they got him nicely toasted.
With Bills of Rights to his tail tied,
With red-hot Humphry too he came,
And more combustibles beside,
That set all Brentford in a flame.
The ruin spread, and made such haste,
For all the engines they employ'd,
The neighbouring towns were soon lay'd waste,
And Middlesex was quite destroy'd:
The flames reach'd London; but anon
The wind chop'd round, or London too had gone.
Both these examples are complete;
I wish some folks would learn from hence
To know that no revenge is sweet,
Without a little common sense.
And caus'd as great a conflagration,
As when Wilkes came and blew his horn,
That, like the last trump, rous'd the nation:
Turn'd out of doors with an intention
To get him basted well, and roasted.
What did they get by their invention?
Get! Why they got him nicely toasted.
With Bills of Rights to his tail tied,
With red-hot Humphry too he came,
And more combustibles beside,
That set all Brentford in a flame.
The ruin spread, and made such haste,
For all the engines they employ'd,
The neighbouring towns were soon lay'd waste,
And Middlesex was quite destroy'd:
The flames reach'd London; but anon
The wind chop'd round, or London too had gone.
100
I wish some folks would learn from hence
To know that no revenge is sweet,
Without a little common sense.
| The Works of John Hall-Stevenson | |