Having floored, by good luck, the first swell of the age, Having conquered the prime one, that milled us all round, You kickt him, old BEN, as he gaspt on the ground! Ay just at the time to show spunk, if you'd got any Kickt him and jawed him and lagged him to Botany! Oh, shade of the Cheesemonger!" you, who, alas! Doubled up by the dozen those Mounseers in brass, On that great day of milling, when blood lay in lakes, When Kings held the bottle, and Europe the stakes, Look down upon BEN see him, dunghill all o'er, Insult the fallen foe that can harm him no more! Out, cowardly spooney! again and again, By the fist of my father, I blush for thee, BEN. To show the white feather is many men's doom, But, what of one feather?-BEN shows a whole Plume. 6 Transported. 7 A Life Guardsman, one of the Fancy who distinguished himself and was killed in the memorable set-to at Waterloo. DEAR LORD BYRON, - 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, THOUGH it was the wish of the Members of the 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, etc. - 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 Song which will be found at the end of this work 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." 66 It may be as well also to state for the information 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 the 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. |