THOUGH this Volume should possess no other merit in your eyes, than that of reminding you of the short time we passed together at Venice, when some of the trifles which it contains were written, you will, I am sure, receive the dedication of it with pleasure, and believe that I am, My dear Lord, Ever faithfully yours, T. B. EDITOR'S PREFACE. If we were asked to select any twenty pages which Moore has written, to convince a skeptic of the varied powers of the poet, we should select the "Fables for the Holy Alliance" to prove our assertion. In these eight poems he has displayed so much sarcasm and brilliant metaphor, that we can even imagine the members of the "Holy Alliance" themselves enjoying their own castigation. In the first fable of the "Ice Palace" the allegory is admirably preserved-the suddenness of the thaw is capitally described—the kings "Waltzing away with all their might, As if the frost would last for ever!" Could the Russian Bear himself avoid a gruff laugh at these lines? "For, lo! ere long, those walls so massy Were seized with an ill-omen'd dripping, Could scarce get on for downright stumbling; Well used, was cursedly near tumbling!" The Fable of the "Looking-Glasses" is of a wider application, and is one of his best satirical efforts. The idea of a certain family reigning by right of their superior beauty, and voting by act of parliament that the rest of the nation is ugly, and keeping up the delusion by means of prohibiting looking-glasses, is a happy one, and affords ample scope for the pen of the satirist. "Of course, if any knave had hinted, That the King's nose was turned awry, Or that the Queen, (God bless her!) squintedThe judges doom'd that knave to die. "But rarely things like this occurr'd, The people to their King were duteous, And took it, on his royal word, That they were frights, and he was beauteous! "The cause whereof, among all classes, Was simply this-these island elves Had never yet seen looking-glasses, And, therefore, did not know themselves." But our readers must study the whole of this admirable political essay for themselves. The shipwreck of a cargo of looking-glasses on the coast enables these islanders to "become a most reflecting nation," and arrive at this hitherto treasonable conviction, "That kings have neither rights nor noses A whit diviner than their own." In the "Torch of Liberty," Moore has given himself up to a finer vein; some of the verses are highly poetical-indeed, so much so, as to carry it into the lyrical kingdom; the lines describing France are worthy of his loftiest flight : "The splendid gift then Gallia took, And, like a wild Bacchante, raising The brand aloft, its sparkles shook, As she would set the world a-blazing !" We are afraid the prophecy contained in the following verse has yet to be fulfilled :— The fifth fable is devoted to "Church and State," and sums up in a short space the absurdities of that union. The tale of the combustible "Extinguishers" is admirably carried out, and full of the most pungent truth; indeed, we feel inclined to assert that a manual of policy might be compiled from these eight poems. Our space will only permit us to give the moral :— "The moral hence my Muse infers Is, that such Lords are simple elves, That are combustible themselves." Our readers will no doubt remember an amusing passage from Morton's "Speed the Plough," when old Handy, asking (when his hall was in flam) where his patent extinguisher is, is told that is on fire. So much for rulers depending upon t military to put down revolutions. MOORE'S PREFACE. and which is sung to us on the first day of every month, by one of our oldest members, to the tune of (as far as I can recollect, being no musician) either "Nancy Dawson" or "He stole away the Bacon." THOUGH it was the wish of the members of the | Song which will be found at the end of this work, Poco-curante Society (who have lately done me the honor of electing me their Secretary) that I should prefix my name to the following Miscellany, it is but fair to them and to myself to state, that, except in the "painful pre-eminence" of being employed to transcribe their lucubrations, my claim to such a distinction in the title-page is not greater than that of any other gentleman, who has contributed his share to the contents of the volume. I had originally intended to take this opportunity of giving some account of the origin and objects of our Institution, the names and characters of the different members, &c., &c.-but, as I am at present preparing for the press the First Volume of the "Transactions of the Poco-curante Society," I shall reserve for that occasion all further details upon the subject; and content myself here with referring, for a general insight into our tenets, to a It may be as well also to state, for the informa tion of those critics, who attack with the hope of being answered, and of being, thereby, brought into notice, that it is the rule of this Society to return no other answer to such assailants, than is contained in three words, "Non curat Hippoclides," (meaning, in English, "Hippoclides does not care a fig,") which were spoken two thousand years ago by the first founder of Poco-curantism, and have ever since been adopted as the leading dictum of the sect. THOMAS BROWN Just fancy how a bard like me, Who reverence monarchs, must have trembled To see that goodly company, At such a ticklish sport assembled. Nor were the fears, that thus astounded Could scarce get on for downright stumbling; And Prussia, though to slippery ways Well used, was cursedly near tumbling. Yet still 'twas, who could stamp the floor most, This precious brace would, hand in hand go; Never were Kings (though small th' expense is Shot from an angry Southern sun, A light through all the chambers flamed, "A thaw, by Jove-we're lost, we're lost; "Run, France-a second Waterloo "Is come to drown you-sauve qui peut !" Why, why will monarchs caper so Crowns, fiddles, sceptres, decorations- With double heads for double dealingsHow fast the globes and sceptres glided Out of their claws on all the ceilings! Proud Prussia's double bird of prey, Tame as a spatch cock, slunk away; While just like France herself, when she Proclaims how great her naval skill is— Poor Louis' drowning fleur-de-lys Imagined themselves water-lilies. And not alone rooms, ceilings, shelves, But still more fatal executionThe Great Legitimates themselves Seem'd in a state of dissolution. Th' indignant Czar-when just about To issue a sublime Ukase, "Whereas all light must be kept out”— Dissolved to nothing in its blaze. Next Prussia took his turn to melt, And, while his lips illustrious felt The influence of this southern air, Some word, like "Constitution"-long Congeal'd in frosty silence there Came slowly thawing from his tongue. While Louis, lapsing by degrees, And sighing out a faint adieu In short, I scarce could count a minute, And nothing now was seen or heard Happy as an enfranchised bird And prouder of that natural ray, Shining along its chainless way— More proudly happy thus to glide In simple grandeur to the sea, Than when, in sparkling fetters tied, "Twas deck'd with all that kingly pride Could bring to light its slavery! Such is my dream—and, I confess, I tremble at its awfulness. That Spanish Dance-that southern beam- FABLE II. THE LOOKING-GLASSES. PROEM. WHERE Kings have been by mob-elections Raised to the Throne, 'tis strange to see What different and what odd perfections Men have required in Royalty. Some, liking monarchs large and plumpy, Have chos'n their Sovereigns by the weight;Some wish'd them tall, some thought your dumpy, Dutch-built, the true Legitimate. The Easterns in a Prince, 'tis said, So that their Kings had not red hair— For the blood royal well could bear. FABLE. There was a land-to name the place Is neither now my wish nor dutyWhere reign'd a certain Royal race, By right of their superior beauty. What was the cut legitimate Of these great persons' chins and noses, By right of which they ruled the state, No history I have seen discloses. But so it was-a settled case Some Act of Parliament, pass'd snugly, Had voted them a beauteous race, And all their faithful subjects ugly. As rank, indeed, stood high or low, Some change it made in visual organs; Your Peers were decent-Knights, so soBut all your common people, gorgons! Of course, if any knave had hinted That the King's nose was turn'd awry, Or that the Queen (God bless her!) squintedThe judges doom'd that knave to die. But rarely things like this occurr'd, The people to their King were duteous, And took it, on his Royal word, That they were frights, and He was beauteous. The cause whereof, among all classes, And, therefore, did not know themselves. Sometimes, indeed, their neighbors' faces Might strike them as more full of reason, More fresh than those in certain placesBut, Lord, the very thought was treason! Besides, howe'er we love our neighbor, So, on they went the crowd believing— But jokes, we know, if they too far go, "Twas said, some Radicals, somewhere, Had laid their wicked heads together, And forced that ship to founder there,While some believe it was the weather. However this might be, the freight Was landed without fees or duties; And from that hour historians date The downfall of the Race of Beauties. The looking-glasses got about, And grew so common through the land, That scarce a tinker could walk out, Without a mirror in his hand. Comparing faces, morning, noon, And night, their constant occupation— By dint of looking-glasses, soon, They grew a most reflecting nation. In vain the Court, aware of errors In all the old, establish'd mazards, Prohibited the use of mirrors, And tried to break them at all hazards: In vain their laws might just as well Have been waste paper on the shelves; That fatal freight had broke the spell; People had look'd-and knew themselves, If chance a Duke, of birth sublime, Presumed upon his ancient face, (Some calf-head, ugly from all time,) They popp'd a mirror to his Grace: Just hinting, by that gentle sign, How little Nature holds it true, |