The Poetical Works of the Ingenious and Learned William Meston ::

The gen'rous Lion long the sceptre sway'd,
And all the beasts must cheerfully obey'd;
No crafty fox, nor any hard-skull'd brute,
Their rightful sovereign's title durst dispute;
His rage made stubborn haughty rebels bow,
And gen'rously he pardon'd them when low.
The flock secure in fertile pastures fed,
By careful guides to pleasant meadows led,
Where christal streams allay'd their heat and thirst,
Cool shades and groves affording room for rest,
To all the flock, with peace and plenty blest.

If fault he had, (for who from fault is free!)
'Twas too much goodness, too much clemency.
At last a factious crew of grunting hogs,
With hissing serpents, and with croaking frogs,

Conspir'd their lawful Liege-lord to dethrone,
And to set up a Monarch of their own.
From foreign shores an ugly beast they bring,
This they anoint, and then proclaim it King;
Half hog, half frog, amphibious and odd,
Some viper's spawn, none of the works of God.
This monster, after he had got the crown,
Did tyrannize in country and in town,
Attended with a crew of vermin vile,
Which ate the fruits, and razed the very soil;
The lab'ring ox no grass nor fodder had,
The harmless sheep were fleec'd, yea, almost flea'd;
The streams condemn'd, the springs were all lock'd up,
Of which the beasts were scarce allow'd one cup;
Such desolation did attend his reign,
As brought a scarcity of every thing.

At last a horse did kick him from the throne,
And by the fall he broke his collar bone;
The subjects then he summon'd to appear,
That they his last and best advice might hear.
Take care, said he, when I am dead and gone,
No Lion ever sit upon the throne;
Now promise this, and then, to make it sure,
The Lion's race straight you must all abjure.
It grieves me that one Lionness remains;
But shou'd I live I'd drive her from these plains:
Yet sure I am the serpents soon will kill
This Lionness, with poison, sting, or pill.
Men easily may prophesy and know
What they have plotted and resolv'd to do.

Are not the bulls the glory of the field?
Why shou'd the bulls then to the Lion yeild?
Or thick-skull'd beasts be subject to the laws
Establish'd by a tawny Lion's paws?

Behold, in yonder field, a stately bull,
Two mighty horns do fortify his skull!
How big his neck appears! how thick his skin!
How large a dewlap hangs below his chin!

Among the horned animals there's none
That greater feats hath with his head-piece done.
A neighbouring bull his heifer did attack,
Before his face, and got upon her back;
The heifer lov'd the other bull the more,
Because oft times he'd done the same before;
Inspir'd with rage and jealousy, he push'd
His rival, and his bones in pieces crush'd,
And drove the frighted heifer from the plain,
To which she never would return again.
For which rare feat, it clearly does appear,
That he deserves a diadem to wear.

With him there comes along a calf of note,
It matters not by whom he was begot;
Just such a thing as, in the days of yore,
Poor foolish man did for a God adore;
For still when men do make them Gods or Kings,
Then out come calves, or some such brutish things;
If calves by men for Gods have been ador'd,
Why should not beasts have such a sovereign lord?
He said, the list'ning croud, all in a ring,
Cry'd with one voice, Long live our new horn'd King!
The frogs and toads with hoarser voice did croak;
The grunting hogs submitted to his yoke,
And all the vipers with their hissing tone,
Congratulate his access to the throne.

The bull-dogs were a very trusty crew,
Who to their lawful Liege-lord still prov'd true;
They lov'd the Lion, and his gen'rous race,
For which they all were treated which disgrace;

Expell'd the court, and driven from the throne,
And forc'd, for want of food, to gnaw a bone;
Which very much rous'd their antipathy
Against the bulls, and all their progeny;
And made them long to have a merry meeting,
And fairly once to try a sound bull-biating.

University of Virginia Library

TALE III.