Both kinds of metal he prepar'd,

Either to give blows, or to ward;

Courage and steel, both of great force,

85

Prepar❜d for better or for worse.

His death-charg'd pistols he did fit well,
Drawn out from life preserving vittle;

These being prim'd with force he labour'd

And rais'd upon his desp'rate foot,
On stirrup-side he gaz'd about.
Portending blood, like blazing star,
The beacon of approaching war.
Ralpho rode on with no less speed
Than Hugo in the forest did:
But far more in returning made;
For now the foe he had survey'd,

Rang'd, as to him they did appear,
With van, main battle, wings, and rear.
I' th' head of all this warlike rabble,
Crowdero march'd, expert and able.

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100

105

174449B

Instead of trumpet and of drum,

That makes the warrior's stomach come,

Whose noise whets valour sharp, like beer

By thunder turn'd to vinegar;

(For if a trumpet sound, or drum beat,

Who has not a month's mind to combat?).
A squeaking engine he apply'd

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Unto his neck, or north-east side,

Just where the hangman does dispose,

115

To special friends, the knot of noose:

For 'tis great grace, when statesmen strait
Dispatch a friend, let others wait.

His warped ear hung o'er the strings,
Which was but souse to chitterlings;

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For guts, some write, ere they are sodden,

Are fit for music, or for pudden:

From whence men borrow ev'ry kind

Of minstrelsy, by string or wind.

His grisly beard was long and thick,
With which he strung his fiddle-stick:
For he to horse-tail scorn'd to owe,
For what on his own chin did grow.
Chiron, the four-legg'd bard, had both
A beard and tail of his own growth;

195

130

And yet by authors 'tis averr'd,

He made use only of his beard.

In Staffordshire, where virtuous worth
Does raise the minstrelsy, not birth,

Where bulls do choose the boldest king,

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And ruler, o'er the men of string;

(As once in Persia, 'tis said,

Kings were proclaim'd by horse that neigh'd;)

He bravely vent'ring at a crown,

4

By chance of war was beaten down,

140

And wounded sore: his leg then broke,

Had got a deputy of oak:

For when a shin in sight is cropt,

The knee with one of timber's propt;
Esteem'd more hon'rable than the other,

And takes place, tho' the younger

brother.

Next march'd brave Orsin, famous for Wise conduct, and success in war;

A skilful leader, stout, severe,

Now marshal to the champion Bear.
With truncheon tipt with iron head,
The warrior to the lists he led:
With solemn march, and stately pace,
But far more grave and solemn face;

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