 | The Ingoldsby Lyrics |  |
49
Greece.
A King for Greece!—a King for Greece!
—Wanted a “Sovereign Prince” for Greece!
For the recreant Knight
Hath broken his plight,
Some say from policy, some from fright,
Some say in hope to rule for his niece,
He hath refused to be King over Greece.
—Wanted a “Sovereign Prince” for Greece!
For the recreant Knight
Hath broken his plight,
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Some say in hope to rule for his niece,
He hath refused to be King over Greece.
A King for Greece!—a King for Greece!
Where shall we find a King for Greece?
Score after score,
A hundred and more,
Candidates crowd round the Treasury door,
From Athens, and Thebes, and the Peloponnese,
All of them eager to reign over Greece.
Where shall we find a King for Greece?
Score after score,
A hundred and more,
Candidates crowd round the Treasury door,
From Athens, and Thebes, and the Peloponnese,
All of them eager to reign over Greece.
Big O exclaims “Be the diadem mine!
I spring from chiefs of an ‘iligant’ line,
The Mahonites swear
If to stand I should dare
I shall ne'er again sit for the County of Clare.
Oh! what will I do should Parliament cease?
Oh! make me the Sovereign Prince of Greece!”
I spring from chiefs of an ‘iligant’ line,
The Mahonites swear
If to stand I should dare
I shall ne'er again sit for the County of Clare.
Oh! what will I do should Parliament cease?
Oh! make me the Sovereign Prince of Greece!”
Now naye, now naye, thou vagabond Dan,
In faith thou never mayst be the man,
Thou'lt cringe, and cry,
And bully, and lie,
Yet shrink from danger whene'er it comes night!
A Skulker in war, a Braggart in peace,
Thou never mayst be the Prince of Greece.
In faith thou never mayst be the man,
Thou'lt cringe, and cry,
And bully, and lie,
Yet shrink from danger whene'er it comes night!
51
Thou never mayst be the Prince of Greece.
“Oh! I'll be King, and the Nation shall thrive,
And I'll make one halfpenny pass for five!
Subscribe! Subscribe!
Ye Chaw-bacon tribe,
Give Peel and Wellington each a bribe;
'Twill cost no more than a penny a-piece,
To buy Will. Cobbett the crown of Greece!”
And I'll make one halfpenny pass for five!
Subscribe! Subscribe!
Ye Chaw-bacon tribe,
Give Peel and Wellington each a bribe;
'Twill cost no more than a penny a-piece,
To buy Will. Cobbett the crown of Greece!”
Now spare, now spare, thou grey-headed sinner,
The poor-man's purse for the poor-man's dinner!
In vain thou'dst rob it,
To mob it, and job it,
Thou never mayst reign, thou wicked Will. Cobbett!
Traitor to all parties, all to fleece,
A Vampyre were better than thou for Greece.
The poor-man's purse for the poor-man's dinner!
In vain thou'dst rob it,
To mob it, and job it,
Thou never mayst reign, thou wicked Will. Cobbett!
Traitor to all parties, all to fleece,
A Vampyre were better than thou for Greece.
“Oh! I'll be King!—oh! I'll be King!
And the people for joy shall dance and sing.
For Lords shall mix
With Layers of Bricks,
And Chimney-sweeps ride in their coaches and six;
Then shout, boys, shout, nor your clamouring cease
Till Henry Hunt is the Monarch of Greece.”
And the people for joy shall dance and sing.
For Lords shall mix
With Layers of Bricks,
And Chimney-sweeps ride in their coaches and six;
Then shout, boys, shout, nor your clamouring cease
Till Henry Hunt is the Monarch of Greece.”
52
Now naye, now naye, thou vain Blacking-man,
Thou wert fitter by far to be King of Japan;
Thy Reps, and Rapscallions,
And Tatterdemallions,
With their whitey-brown hats and their pewter medallions,
Fit subjects they for the new Police,
They never shall make thee the King of Greece!
Thou wert fitter by far to be King of Japan;
Thy Reps, and Rapscallions,
And Tatterdemallions,
With their whitey-brown hats and their pewter medallions,
Fit subjects they for the new Police,
They never shall make thee the King of Greece!
“Now tell me the price! now tell me the price!
Don't stand shilly-shally, nor be over-nice;
No matter how high,
I'll buy, I'll buy!
Then who'll be so great or so grand as I?
In my diamond tiara and ermined pelisse,
No longer a Duchess but Queen of Greece!”
Don't stand shilly-shally, nor be over-nice;
No matter how high,
I'll buy, I'll buy!
Then who'll be so great or so grand as I?
In my diamond tiara and ermined pelisse,
No longer a Duchess but Queen of Greece!”
Now naye, proud Duchess, now naye, now naye,
No Queen, but Quean, which is spelt with an a!
Full shameful, I ween,
It were in a Queen
To tipple Kürsch Wasser and proof Maraschin,
Now naye, now naye!—thy maudlin caprice
Shall never, O never, give law to Greece!
No Queen, but Quean, which is spelt with an a!
Full shameful, I ween,
It were in a Queen
To tipple Kürsch Wasser and proof Maraschin,
Now naye, now naye!—thy maudlin caprice
Shall never, O never, give law to Greece!
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A King for Greece!—Oh, who may he be?—
“Ye'll just gie the ‘Souveran Croon’ to me!
The Siller's the thing
That maks a gude King;
To sic a fine pass the ‘revanue’ I'll bring,
Ye'll see the whole ‘tottle hoorly’ increase,
Gin ye'll mak Joey the King o' Greece!”
“Ye'll just gie the ‘Souveran Croon’ to me!
The Siller's the thing
That maks a gude King;
To sic a fine pass the ‘revanue’ I'll bring,
Ye'll see the whole ‘tottle hoorly’ increase,
Gin ye'll mak Joey the King o' Greece!”
Now naye, now naye, thou pawkie auld Scot,
Thy knaverie is not so soon forgot,
Thy tricks in the Loan
Are far too well known,
Thou'dst “rob the Exchequer,” and call it thine own!
Now naye, friend Joey, ne'er think us such Geese
That a Fox like thee should be King over Greece.
Thy knaverie is not so soon forgot,
Thy tricks in the Loan
Are far too well known,
Thou'dst “rob the Exchequer,” and call it thine own!
Now naye, friend Joey, ne'er think us such Geese
That a Fox like thee should be King over Greece.
Alas! for Greece!—Alas! for Greece!
We never shall find a fit King for Greece;
That Royal pair,
“Lance” and Chabert,
Are both of them burning to blaze away there,
Like William and Mary on a half-crown piece,
With heads conjoined to reign over Greece.
We never shall find a fit King for Greece;
That Royal pair,
“Lance” and Chabert,
Are both of them burning to blaze away there,
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With heads conjoined to reign over Greece.
That never may be!—That never may be!
Though Satan were joined to make Fire-Kings three;
No Quackified Gander,
Nor red Salamander,
May sit where sat Macedon's Great Alexander:
Oh! had we Sovereigns fiery as these
Who might insure the safety of Greece?
Alas for Greece!—our hopes decrease—
We must look for a King among the Chinese!
Though Satan were joined to make Fire-Kings three;
No Quackified Gander,
Nor red Salamander,
May sit where sat Macedon's Great Alexander:
Oh! had we Sovereigns fiery as these
Who might insure the safety of Greece?
Alas for Greece!—our hopes decrease—
We must look for a King among the Chinese!
There's Dombrowsky,
And Poniatowsky,
Soltikoffs twenty,
And Romanoffs plenty,
Mastuchiewitz, Tchitchagoff,
(Enough to give a witch a cough,)
Pole and Russ,
All making a fuss,
With Germans and Dutch,
The sceptre to clutch—
Van Rump, Van Frump,
Van Beest, and Van Trump!
There's Prince Esterhazy,
So rich and so lazy;
There's Prince Emilius,
Looking so bilious;
And Count Capo d'Istery,
Famous in History;
With Wirtemberg Paul,
And the Devil and all,
French, Swiss, Spanish, and Piedmontese,
All of them mad to reign over Greece!
And Poniatowsky,
Soltikoffs twenty,
And Romanoffs plenty,
Mastuchiewitz, Tchitchagoff,
(Enough to give a witch a cough,)
Pole and Russ,
All making a fuss,
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The sceptre to clutch—
Van Rump, Van Frump,
Van Beest, and Van Trump!
There's Prince Esterhazy,
So rich and so lazy;
There's Prince Emilius,
Looking so bilious;
And Count Capo d'Istery,
Famous in History;
With Wirtemberg Paul,
And the Devil and all,
French, Swiss, Spanish, and Piedmontese,
All of them mad to reign over Greece!
Oh, Jupiter! Sire of Gods and Men,
To thine own Olympus return again!
Bring back Mercurius,
Thy son, though spurious,
And Phœbus, and Juno,
And Hebe, whom you know;
Sweet little Cupid,
Who strikes people stupid,
With Bacchus and Venus,
And Pan and Silenus,
And the rest, who at school used so much to chagrin us!
Restore, once more,
To thy Classical Shore
Her “bright golden Age” and her “Glories of Yore!”
(Two phrases I've borrowed from honest Tom Moore),
From fierce Seraskiers,
Whisker'd up to the ears;
From Slaves,
And Knaves,
And Fools,
And Tools,
Thine own fair realm at length release,
And send us a Patriot Prince for Greece!
To thine own Olympus return again!
Bring back Mercurius,
Thy son, though spurious,
And Phœbus, and Juno,
And Hebe, whom you know;
Sweet little Cupid,
Who strikes people stupid,
With Bacchus and Venus,
And Pan and Silenus,
And the rest, who at school used so much to chagrin us!
56
To thy Classical Shore
Her “bright golden Age” and her “Glories of Yore!”
(Two phrases I've borrowed from honest Tom Moore),
From fierce Seraskiers,
Whisker'd up to the ears;
From Slaves,
And Knaves,
And Fools,
And Tools,
Thine own fair realm at length release,
And send us a Patriot Prince for Greece!
Monsieur Chabert was a sort of conjurer, who, in addition to the title of Fire King, claimed, like his royal predecessor the “Pontic Monarch,” immunity from the effects of poison. Unhappily for him, Mr. Wakley, the editor of the “Lancet,” thought proper to take up the cudgels in the interests of science; and very soon proved that a fire of his kindling and prussic acid of his preparing were not matters to be trifled with.
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