The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard With a Memoir by Blanchard Jerrold |
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QUEEN ELIZABETH'S STOCKINGS.
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 | The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard |  |
296
QUEEN ELIZABETH'S STOCKINGS.
‘Sarah Row was indicted for stealing a pair of silk hose, value 10s.
‘Common Serjeant: I see, Madame, by the deposition, that you state the stockings are more than 300 years old?
‘Witness: My Lord, they were once the property of Elizabeth, Queen of England. When that monarch died, her will directed that her wardrobe should be divided between her maids of honour, and these stockings have been handed down as heirlooms from generation to generation.
‘The hose were now produced, and excited great curiosity. They were of scarlet silk, with white clocks, surmounted by a Papal crown.’—
Daily Paper.
‘Ah! sure a pair was never seen,
So justly formed,’&c.
So justly formed,’&c.
Oh, stockings illustrious, marvellous hose,
Who on earth such a pair could expect to behold?
Whatsoever the witness above may depose,
Is it true that you're more than three hundred years old?
Who on earth such a pair could expect to behold?
Whatsoever the witness above may depose,
Is it true that you're more than three hundred years old?
Like the handkerchief cribbed by Iago, the varlet,
The worms were all hallowed that bred your fine silk;
Why, poppies when brightest are pale to your scarlet,
Your clocks shame the whiteness of snow or of milk.
The worms were all hallowed that bred your fine silk;
Why, poppies when brightest are pale to your scarlet,
Your clocks shame the whiteness of snow or of milk.
297
How strange! that such fragile productions may stay,
When queens and their subjects pass off with celerity;
How odd, when the ankles they covered are clay,
That stockings are thus handed down to posterity.
When queens and their subjects pass off with celerity;
How odd, when the ankles they covered are clay,
That stockings are thus handed down to posterity.
Ah! when did she wear ye? Why, as I'm alive,
You're as red to this day as the fires of old Bonner;
Supernatural stockings, how did you survive?
Say, magical silk, were you ever drawn on her?
You're as red to this day as the fires of old Bonner;
Supernatural stockings, how did you survive?
Say, magical silk, were you ever drawn on her?
Well! when did she wear ye? Were ye on her feet
When the gallant Lord Essex first flung himself there?
Did you peep, as that virgin heart tenderly beat,
From under the petticoat, exquisite pair?
When the gallant Lord Essex first flung himself there?
Did you peep, as that virgin heart tenderly beat,
From under the petticoat, exquisite pair?
Were ye worn, scarlet hose, on the day when she found
The statesman and swain lost to love and to reason?
Your silk was perchance 'twixt her foot and the ground
When stamped in a fury at Essex's treason.
The statesman and swain lost to love and to reason?
Your silk was perchance 'twixt her foot and the ground
When stamped in a fury at Essex's treason.
Who can say you're not the identical pair
In which her fair ankles were blushingly seen,
As she stepped on the cloak that young Raleigh threw there
To save from a spot e'en the shoe of his queen.
In which her fair ankles were blushingly seen,
As she stepped on the cloak that young Raleigh threw there
To save from a spot e'en the shoe of his queen.
What marvel, bright hose, you are thus handed down!
‘Maids of honour’ alone can be worthy of you;
The wonder is, seeing that each clock bears a ‘crown,’
(Id est, four) that yourselves should be valued at two.
‘Maids of honour’ alone can be worthy of you;
The wonder is, seeing that each clock bears a ‘crown,’
(Id est, four) that yourselves should be valued at two.
298
Yet e'en at this low rate your worth may be seen;
And to you as an heirloom, all heirlooms must bow,
For being but part of a dress of a queen,
You are equal to just‘Half a Sovereign’ now.
And to you as an heirloom, all heirlooms must bow,
For being but part of a dress of a queen,
You are equal to just‘Half a Sovereign’ now.
'Twas natural to steal ye; ah! who could resist!
Common gallantry bids one lay hands on the gear;
But as stockings like these are so apt to be missed,
A watch should be kept on each ‘clock’it is clear.
Common gallantry bids one lay hands on the gear;
But as stockings like these are so apt to be missed,
A watch should be kept on each ‘clock’it is clear.
Be still handed down!—But my Muse, ere she's dizzy,
Would sing of a living queen—(sing her, sweet Muse).
Who, though she may ne'er wear the stockings of Lizzy,
For England's proud glory, may ‘tread in her shoes.’
Would sing of a living queen—(sing her, sweet Muse).
Who, though she may ne'er wear the stockings of Lizzy,
For England's proud glory, may ‘tread in her shoes.’
1837.
| The Poetical Works of Laman Blanchard | |