Did then and there, his whipping get,

And (as the Nursery Gazette

Assures us) like a hero bore it.

And though, 'mong Thibet Tories, some
Lament that Royal Martyrdom,
(Please to observe, the letter D
In this last word's pronounced like B,)
Yet to th' example of that Prince

So much is Thibet's land a debtor,
That her long line of Lamas, since,

Have all behaved themselves much better.

FABLE VII.

THE EXTINGUISHERS.

PROEM.

THOUGH Soldiers are the true supports,
The natural allies of Courts,
Woe to the Monarch, who depends
Too much on his red-coated friends;
For even soldiers sometimes think-

Nay, Colonels have been known to reason,—
And reasoners, whether clad in pink,
Or red, or blue, are on the brink

(Nine cases out of ten) of treason.

Not many soldiers, I believe, are

As fond of liberty as Mina; Else-woe to kings, when Freedom's fever Once turns into a Scarletina! For then-but hold, 'tis best to veil My meaning in the following tale:

FABLE.

A Lord of Persia, rich and great,
Just come into a large estate,

Was shock'd to find he had, for neighbors,
Close to his gate, some rascal Ghebers,
Whose fires, beneath his very nose
In heretic combustion rose.

But Lords of Persia can, no doubt,

Do what they will-so, one fine morning, He turn'd the rascal Ghebers out,

First giving a few kicks for warning. Then, thanking Heaven most piously,

He knock'd their Temple to the ground, Blessing himself for joy to see

Such Pagan ruins strew'd around. But much it vex'd my Lord to find,

That, while all else obey'd his will,

The Fire these Ghebers left behind,
Do what he would, kept burning still.
Fiercely he storm'd, as if his frown
Could scare the bright insurgent down;
But, no-such fires are headstrong things,
And care not much for Lords or Kings.
Scarce could his Lordship well contrive

The flashes in one place to smother,
Before-hey presto!—all alive,

They sprung up freshly in another.

At length, when, spite of prayers and damns, 'Twas found the sturdy flame defied him, His stewards came, with low salams,

Off'ring, by contract, to provide him
Some large Extinguishers, (a plan,
Much used, they said, at Ispahan,
Vienna, Petersburgh-in short,
Wherever Light's forbid at court,)
Machines no Lord should be without,
Which would, at once, put promptly out
All kinds of fires-from staring, stark
Volcanoes to the tiniest spark;

Till all things slept as dull as dark,
As, in a great Lord's neighborhood,
'Twas right and fitting all things should.

Accordingly, some large supplies

Of these Extinguishers were furnish'd, (All of the true Imperial size,)

And there, in rows, stood black and burnish'd, Ready, where'er a gleam but shone Of light or fire, to be clapp'd on.

But, ah, how lordly wisdom errs,
In trusting to extinguishers!
One day, when he had left all sure,
(At least, so thought he,) dark, secure-
The flame, at all its exits, entries,

Obstructed to his heart's content,
And black extinguishers, like sentries,
Placed over every dangerous vent-
Ye Gods, imagine his amaze,

His wrath, his rage, when, on returning, He found not only the old blaze,

Brisk as before, crackling and burning, Not only new, young conflagrations, Popping up round in various stations— But, still more awful, strange, and dire, Th' Extinguishers themselves on fire!!"

They, they those trusty, blind machines His Lordship had so long been praising, As, under Providence, the means

Of keeping down all lawless blazing,

Were now, themselves-alas, too true The shameful fact-turn'd blazers too, And, by a change as odd as cruel, Instead of dampers, served for fuel!14

Thus, of his only hope bereft,

“What,” said the great man, "must be done?” All that, in scrapes like this, is left

To great men is-to cut and run.
So run he did; while to their grounds,

The banish'd Ghebers bless'd return'd;
And, though their Fire had broke its bounds,
And all abroad now wildly burn'd,

Yet well could they, who loved the flame,
Its wand'ring, its excess reclaim;
And soon another, fairer Dome
Arose to be its sacred home,

Where, cherish'd, guarded, not confined,
The living glory dwelt inshrined,
And, shedding lustre strong, but even,
Though born of earth, grew worthy heav'n.

MORAL

The moral hence my Muse infers

Is, that such Lords are simple elves,

In trusting to Extinguishers,

That are combustible themselves.

FABLE VIII.

LOUIS FOURTEENTH'S WIG.

The money raised-the army ready-
Drums beating, and the Royal Neddy,
Valiantly braying in the van,

To the old tune, "Eh, eh, Sire Ane !"—15
Naught wanting, but some coup dramatic
To make French sentiment explode,
Bring in, at once, the goût fanatic,

And make the war "la dernière mode”— Instantly, at the Pavillon Marsan,

Is held an Ultra consultation-
What's to be done, to help the farce on?

What stage-effect, what decoration,
To make this beauteous France forget,
In one grand, glorious pirouette,
All she had sworn to but last week,
And, with a cry of "Magnifique !"
Rush forth to this, or any war,
Without inquiring once-" What for?"

After some plans proposed by each,

Lord Châteaubriand made a speech,

(Quoting, to show what men's rights are,
Or rather what men's rights should be,
From Hobbes, Lord Castlereagh, the Czar,
And other friends to Liberty,)
Wherein, he having first protested
'Gainst humoring the mob-suggested
(As the most high-bred plan he saw
For giving the new War éclat)
A grand, Baptismal Melo-drame,
To be got up at Nôtre-Dame,

In which the Duke (who, bless his Highness!
Had by his hilt acquired such fame,
'Twas hoped that he as little shyness
Would show, when to the point he came)
Should, for his deeds so lion-hearted,
Be christen'd Hero, ere he started;
With power, by Royal Ordonnance,
To bear that name-at least in France.
Himself the Viscount Châteaubriand—
(To help th' affair with more esprit on)
Off'ring for this baptismal rite,

Some of his own famed Jordan water-16 (Marie Louise not having quite

Used all that, for young Nap, he brought her,)
The baptism, in this case, to be
Applied to that extremity,

Which Bourbon heroes most expose;
And which (as well all Europe knows)
Happens to be, in this Defender
Of the true Faith, extremely tender."

Or if (the Viscount said) this scheme
Too rash and premature should seem-
If thus discounting heroes, on tick—
This glory by anticipation,

Was too much in the genre romantique

For such a highly classic nation,
He begg'd to say, the Abyssinians
A practice had in their dominions,
Which, if at Paris got up well,
In full costume, was sure to tell.
At all great epochs, good or ill,

They have, says BRUCE, (and BRUCE ne'er budges

From the strict truth,) a grand Quadrille

In public danced by the Twelve Judges-"

And, he assures us, the grimaces,

The entre-chats, the airs and graces
Of dancers, so profound and stately,
Divert the Abyssinians greatly.

It seems (as Monsieur told the story)
That Louis the Fourteenth,-that glory,
That Coryphée of all crown'd pates,—
That pink of the Legitimates-
Had, when, with many a pious pray'r, he
Bequeath'd unto the Virgin Mary
His marriage deeds, and cordon bleu1
Bequeath'd to her his State Wig too-
(An off'ring which, at Court, 'tis thought,
The Virgin values as she ought)—
That Wig, the wonder of all eyes,
The Cynosure of Gallia's skies,
To watch and tend whose curls adored,
Rebuild its tow'ring roof, when flat,
And round its rumpled base, a Board

Of sixty Barbers daily sat,20
With Subs, on State-Days, to assist,
Well pension'd from the Civil List:-
That wondrous Wig, array'd in which,
And form'd alike to awe or witch,
He beat all other heirs of crowns,
In taking mistresses and towns,
Requiring but a shot at one,

A smile at t'other, and 'twas done!

"That Wig" (said Monsieur, while his brow Rose proudly)" is existing now;— "That Grand Perruque, amid the fall "Of ev'ry other Royal glory, "With curls erect survives them all, "And tells in ev'ry hair their story. "Think, think, how welcome at this time "A relic, so beloved, sublime! "What worthier standard of the Cause "Of Kingly Right can France demand? "Or who among our ranks can pause

"To guard it, while a curl shall stand? "Behold, my friends"-(while thus he cried, A curtain which conceal'd this pride Of Princely Wigs was drawn aside) "Behold that grand Perruque-how big "With recollections for the world— "For France for us-Great LOUIS' Wig,

66

Thinking such small concessions sage, "To meet the spirit of the age, "And do what best that spirit flatters, "In Wigs-if not in weightier matters. "Wherefore, to please the Czar, and show "That we too, much-wrong'd Bourbons, know "What liberalism in Monarchs is, "We have conceded the New Friz! "Thus arm'd, ye gallant Ultras, say, "Can men, can Frenchmen, fear the fray? "With this proud relic in our van,

"And D'ANGOULEME, our worthy leader, "Let rebel Spain do all she can,

(1) "It is well known that the Empress Anne built a palace of ice on the Neva, in 1740, which was fifty-two feet in length, and when illuminated had a surprising effect."-PINKERTON.

(2) The Goths had a law to choose always a short, thick man for their King.-Munster, Cosmog. lib. iii. p. 164.

(3) "In a Prince a jolter-head is invaluable."—Oriental Field Sports.

(4) According to Elian, it was in the island of Leucadia they practised this ceremony.-De Animal. lib. ii. cap. 8.

(5) Ames, demi-âmes, &c.

(6) The salamander is supposed to have the power of extinguishing fire by its natural coldness and moisture.

(7) A well-known publisher of irreligious books.

(8) "The greatest number of the ichneumon tribe are seen settling upon the back of the caterpillar, and darting at different intervals their stings into its body-at every dart they depose an egg."-GOLDSMITH.

(9) Andreas.

(10) Quand il était occupé d'aucune essoine, il envoyait Novelle, sa fille, en son lieu lire aux escholes en charge, et, afin qua la biauté d'elle n'empêchât la pensée des oyants, ella avait une petite courtine devant elle.-Christ. de Pise, Cité des Dames, p. 11, cap. 36.

(11) See Turner's Embassy to Thibet for an account of his interview with the Lama.-"Teshoo Lama (he says) was at this time eighteen months old. Though he was unable to speak a word, he made the most expressive signs, and conducted himself with astonishing dignity and decorum."

(12) This alludes to the execution of Charles I.

(13) The idea of this Fable was caught from one of those brilliant mots which abound in the conversation of my friend,

the author of the "Letters to Julia,"-a production which contains some of the happiest specimens of playful poetry that have appeared in this or any age.

(14) Old Handy. Where are the extinguishers?

Young Handy. They are on fire.-SPEED THE PLOUGH.

(15) They celebrated in the dark ages, at many churches, particularly at Rouen, what was called the Feast of the Ass. On this occasion the ass, finely dressed, was brought before the altar, and they sung before him this elegant anthem, "Eh, eh, eh, Sire Ane, eh, eh, eh, Sire Ane."-WARTON's Essay on Pope.

(16) Brought from the river Jordan by M. Châteaubriand, and presented to the French Empress for the christening of young Napoleon.

(17) See the Duke's celebrated letter to madame, written during his campaign in 1815, in which he says, "J'ai le pos térieur légèrement endommagé."

(18) "On certain great occasions, the twelve Judges (who are generally between sixty and seventy years of age) sing the song and dance the figure-dance," &c.-Book v.

(19) "Louis XIV. fit présent à la Vierge de son cordon bleu, que l'on conserve soigneusement, et lui envoya ensuite, son Contrat de Mariage et le Traité des Pyrenées, magnifiquement relié."-Mémoires, Anecdotes pour servir, &c.

(20) The learned author of Recherches, Historiques sur les Perruques says that the Board consisted but of Forty-the same number as the Academy. "Le plus beau tems des perruques fut celui où Louis XIV. commença à porter, luimême, perruque; ........ On ignore l'époque où se fit cette révolution; mais on sait qu'elle engagea Louis le Grand à y donner ses soins paternels, en créant, en 1656, quarante charges de perruquiers, suivant la cour; et en 1673, il forma un corps de deux cents perruquiers pour la Ville de Paris." -P. 111.

(21) A celebrated Coiffeur of the present day.

ΤΟ

SIR,

:

THERE is but little known with certainty of the fe of Anacreon. Chamæleon Heracleotes, who wrote upon the subject, has been lost in the general wreck of ancient literature. The editors of the poet have collected the few trifling anecdotes which are scattered through the extant authors of antiquity, and, supplying the deficiency of materials by fictions of their own imagination, have arranged, what they call, a life of Anacreon. These specious fabrications are intended to indulge that mterest which we naturally feel in the biography of illustrious men; but it is rather a dangerous kind of illusion, as it confounds the limits of story and romance,' and is too often supported by unfaithful citation.'

Our poet was born in the city of Téos, in the delicious region of Ionia, and the time of his birth appears to have been in the sixth century before Christ.

He flourished at that remarkable period, when, under the polished tyrants Hipparchus and Polycrates, Athens and Samos were become the rival asylums of genius. There is nothing certain known about his family, and those who pretend to discover in Plato that he was a descendant of the monarch Codrus, show much more of zeal than of either accuracy or judgment.3

The disposition and talents of Anacreon recommended him to the monarch of Samos, and he was formed to be the friend of such a prince as Polycrates. Susceptible only to the pleasures, he felt