My trunk shall be nailed quite close to my back;
Four stout lads so civil

Will bear it up level,

Whilst I ride on their shoulders instead of a sack.
Now let them all sing,

And the valleys will ring,

Raising up a fine chorus, both gallant and brave;
Then lay me down flat,

Like a sieve-woman's hat,

And away goes the merry man into his grave.
Ri fal-da-riddle lah, &c.

THE COURT OF ALDERMEN AT FISHMONGERS' HALL. "Is that dace or perch?"

Said Alderman Birch ;

"I take it for herring,"

Said Alderman Perring.

"This jack's very good,"

Said Alderman Wood;
'But its bones might a man slay,"
Said Alderman Ansley.

"I'll butter what I get,"

Said Alderman Heygate.
Give me some stewed carp,"
Said Alderman Thorp.
"The roe's dry as pith,"

Said Alderman Smith.

"Don't cut so far down,"

Said Alderman Brown:

But nearer the fin,"

Said Alderman Glyn.

"I've finished, i' faith, man,"

Said Alderman Waithman:

"And I too, i' fatkins,"

Said Alderman Atkins.

"They've crimped this cod drolly,"

Said Alderman Scholey;

"'Tis bruised at the ridges,'

Said Alderman Brydges.

"Was it caught in a drag? Nay,"
Said Alderman Magnay.

"'Twas brought by two men,”
Said Alderman Ven-
ables: "Yes, in a box,"
Said Alderman Cox.

"They care not how fur 'tis,"

Said Alderman Curtis

[Born in 1767, died in 1848. President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. He wrote much in both verse and prose: his principal poetical composition, 'published in 1832, is named Dermot MacMorrogh, or the Conquest of Ireland, an Historical Tale of the Twelfth Century, in Four Cantos].

THE PLAGUE IN THE FOREST

TIME was when round the lion's den
A peopled city raised its head;
'Twas not inhabited by men,

But by four-footed beasts instead.
The lynx, the leopard, and the bear,
The tiger and the wolf, were there;
The hoof-defended steed;

The bull, prepared with horns to gore;
The cat with claws, the tusky boar,
And all the canine breed.

In social compact thus combined,
Together dwelt the beasts of prey;
Their murderous weapons all resigned,
And vowed each other not to slay.
Among them Reynard thrust his phiz;
Not hoof nor horn nor tusk was his,
For warfare all unfit.

He whispered to the royal dunce,
And gained a settlement at once;
His weapon was-his wit.

One summer, by some fatal spell,

(Phoebus was peevish for some scoff)

The plague upon that city fell,

And swept the beasts by thousands off.
The lion, as became his part,

Loved his own people from his heart;
And, taking counsel sage,

His peerage summoned to advise,
And offer up a sacrifice

To soothe Apollo's rage.

Quoth Lion, "We are sinners all;
And even, it must be confessed,
If among sheep I chance to fall,
I-I am guilty as the rest.
To me the sight of lamb is cursed;
It kindles in my throat a thirst,—
I struggle to refrain,-

Poor innocent! his blood so sweet!
His flesh so delicate to eat!

I find resistance vain.

"Now to be candid, I must own

The sheep are weak and I am strong,

But, when we find ourselves alone,

The sheep have never done me wrong. And, since I purpose to reveal

All my offences, nor conceal

One trespass from your view,

My appetite is made so keen

That with the sheep the time has been
I took the shepherd too.

"Then let us all our sins confess,
And whosesoe'er the blackest guilt,
To ease my people's deep distress,
Let his atoning blood be spilt.
My own confession now you hear.
Should none of deeper dye appear,
Your sentence freely give;
And, if on me should fall the lot,
Make me the victim on the spot,
And let my people live."

The council with applauses rung,

To hear the Codrus of the wood; Though still some doubt suspended hung If he would make his promise good.

Quoth Reynard, "Since the world was made, Was ever love like this displayed?

Let us like subjects true

Swear, as before your feet we fall,
Sooner than you should die for all,

We all will die for you.

"But please your majesty, I deem,
Submissive to your royal grace,
You hold in far too high esteem

That paltry, poltroon, sheepish race;
For oft, reflecting in the shade,
I ask myself why sheep were made
By all-creating power:

And, howsoe'er I tax my mind,
This the sole reason I can find-
For lions to devour.

"And as for eating now and then
As well the shepherd as the sheep,-
How can that braggart breed of men

Expect with you the peace to keep?
'Tis time their blustering boast to stem,
That all the world was made for them—
And prove creation's plan;
Teach them by evidence profuse
That man was made for lions' use,
Not lions made for man."

And now the noble peers begin,

And, cheered with such examples bright, Disclosing each his secret sin,

Some midnight murder brought to light. Reynard was counsel for them all; No crime the assembly could appal, But he could botch with paint: Hark, as his honeyed accents roll, Each tiger is a gentle soul,

Each bloodhound is a saint.

When each had told his tale in turn,
The long-eared beast of burden came,
And meekly said, "My bowels yearn
To make confession of my shame;
But I remember on a time

I passed, not thinking of a crime,
A haystack on my way:

His lure some tempting devil spread,
I stretched across the fence my head,
And cropped a lock of hay.'

"Oh monster! villain!" Reynard cried→→ "No longer seek the victim, sire ;

Nor why your subjects thus have died
To expiate Apollo's ire."