 | The Works of Thomas Love Peacock |  |
181
A NEW ORDER OF CHIVALRY.
I.
Sir Moses, Sir Aaron, Sir Jamramajee,
Two stock-jobbing Jews, and a shroffing Parsee,
Have girt on the armour of old Chivalrie,
And, instead of the Red Cross, have hoisted Balls Three.
Two stock-jobbing Jews, and a shroffing Parsee,
Have girt on the armour of old Chivalrie,
And, instead of the Red Cross, have hoisted Balls Three.
Now fancy our Sovereign, so gracious and bland,
With the sword of Saint George in her royal right hand,
Instructing this trio of marvellous Knights
In the mystical meanings of Chivalry's rites.
With the sword of Saint George in her royal right hand,
Instructing this trio of marvellous Knights
In the mystical meanings of Chivalry's rites.
“You have come from the bath, all in milk-white array,
To show you have washed worldly feelings away,
And, pure as your vestments from secular stain,
Renounce sordid passions and seekings for gain.
To show you have washed worldly feelings away,
And, pure as your vestments from secular stain,
Renounce sordid passions and seekings for gain.
182
“This scarf of deep red o'er your vestments I throw,
In token, that down them your life-blood shall flow,
Ere Chivalry's honour, or Christendom's faith,
Shall meet, through your failure, or peril or scaith.
In token, that down them your life-blood shall flow,
Ere Chivalry's honour, or Christendom's faith,
Shall meet, through your failure, or peril or scaith.
“These slippers of silk, of the colour of earth,
Are in sign of remembrance of whence you had birth;
That from earth you have sprung, and to earth you return,
But stand for the faith, life immortal to earn.
Are in sign of remembrance of whence you had birth;
That from earth you have sprung, and to earth you return,
But stand for the faith, life immortal to earn.
“This blow of the sword, on your shoulder-blades true,
Is the mandate of homage, where homage is due,
And the sign, that your swords from the scabbard shall fly,
When ‘St. George and the Right’ is the rallying cry.
Is the mandate of homage, where homage is due,
And the sign, that your swords from the scabbard shall fly,
When ‘St. George and the Right’ is the rallying cry.
“This belt of white silk, which no speck has defaced,
Is the sign of a bosom with purity graced,
And binds you to prove, whatsoever betides,
Of damsels distressed the friends, champions, and guides.
Is the sign of a bosom with purity graced,
And binds you to prove, whatsoever betides,
Of damsels distressed the friends, champions, and guides.
“These spurs of pure gold are the symbols which say,
As your steeds obey them, you the Church shall obey,
And speed at her bidding, through country and town,
To strike, with your faulchions, her enemies down.”
As your steeds obey them, you the Church shall obey,
And speed at her bidding, through country and town,
To strike, with your faulchions, her enemies down.”
II.
Now fancy these Knights, when the speech they have heard,
As they stand, scarfed, shoed, shoulder-dubbed, belted and spurred,
With the cross-handled sword duly sheathed on the thigh,
Thus simply and candidly making reply:
As they stand, scarfed, shoed, shoulder-dubbed, belted and spurred,
183
Thus simply and candidly making reply:
“By your majesty's grace we have risen up Knights,
But we feel little relish for frays and for fights:
There are heroes enough, full of spirit and fire,
Always ready to shoot and be shot at for hire.
But we feel little relish for frays and for fights:
There are heroes enough, full of spirit and fire,
Always ready to shoot and be shot at for hire.
“True, with bulls and with bears we have battled our cause;
But the bulls have no horns, and the bears have no paws;
And the mightiest blow which we ever have struck,
Has achieved but the glory of laming a duck.
But the bulls have no horns, and the bears have no paws;
And the mightiest blow which we ever have struck,
Has achieved but the glory of laming a duck.
“With two nations in arms, friends impartial to both,
To raise each a loan we shall be nothing loth;
We will lend them the pay, to fit men for the fray;
But shall keep ourselves carefully out of the way.
To raise each a loan we shall be nothing loth;
We will lend them the pay, to fit men for the fray;
But shall keep ourselves carefully out of the way.
184
“We have small taste for championing maids in distress:
For State we care little: for Church we care less:
To Premium and Bonus our homage we plight:
‘Percentage!’ we cry: and ‘A fig for the right!’
For State we care little: for Church we care less:
To Premium and Bonus our homage we plight:
‘Percentage!’ we cry: and ‘A fig for the right!’
“'Twixt Saint George and the Dragon, we settle it thus:
Which has scrip above par, is the Hero for us:
For a turn in the market, the Dragon's red gorge
Shall have our free welcome to swallow Saint George.”
Which has scrip above par, is the Hero for us:
For a turn in the market, the Dragon's red gorge
Shall have our free welcome to swallow Saint George.”
Now God save our Queen, and if aught should occur,
To peril the crown, or the safety of her,
God send that the leader, who faces the foe,
May have more of King Richard than Moses and Co.
To peril the crown, or the safety of her,
God send that the leader, who faces the foe,
May have more of King Richard than Moses and Co.
In Stock Exchange slang, Bulls are speculators for a rise, Bears for a fall. A lame duck is a man who cannot pay his differences, and is said to waddle off. The patriotism of the money-market is well touched by Ponsard, in his comedy La Bourse; Acte IV. Scène 3:—
ALFRED.Quand nous sommes vainqueurs, dire qu'on a baissé!
Si nous étions battus, on aurait donc haussé?
Si nous étions battus, on aurait donc haussé?
DELATOUR.
On a craint qu'un succès, si brillant pour la France,
De la paix qu'on rêvait n'éloignât l'espérance.
De la paix qu'on rêvait n'éloignât l'espérance.
ALFRED.
Cette Bourse, morbleu! n'a donc rien dans le cœur!
Ventre affamé n'a point d'oreilles . . . pour l'honneur!
Aussi je ne veux plus jouer—qu'après ma noce—
Et j'attends Waterloo pour me mettre à la hausse.
Ventre affamé n'a point d'oreilles . . . pour l'honneur!
Aussi je ne veux plus jouer—qu'après ma noce—
Et j'attends Waterloo pour me mettre à la hausse.
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