:

Rais'd rampiers with their own soft hands,
To put the enemy to stands;
From ladies down to oyster-wenches
Labour'd like pioneers in trenches,
Fall'n to their pick-axes, and tools,
And help'd the men to dig like moles?
Have not the handmaids of the city
Chose of their members a committee,
For raising of a common purse
Out of their wages to raise horse?
And do they not as triers sit,

To judge what officers are fit?

805

810

were retreated. (See Whitelock's Memorials, p. 58, 60, 63.) This is confirmed by Mr. May (in his History of the Parliament, lib. 3. cap. 5. p. 91.) It was the custome (says he) every day to go out by thousands to dig all professions, trades, and occupations taking their turns: and not only inferior tradesmen, but gentlemen, and ladies themselves, for the encouragement of others; carrying themselves spades, mattocks and other instruments of digging; so that it became a pleasant sight in London to see them go out in such an order and number, with drums beating before them." (Mr. B.) See Collection of Loyal Songs, reprinted 1731, vol. 1. No. 53. On demolishing the Forts.

v. 807. Fall'n] In the three first editions; Fell, edit. 1684.

v. 809, 810. Have not the handmaids of the City-Chose of their members a committee.] To this probably the writer of A Letter sent to London, by a spy at Oxford, 1643, alludes, p. 12. "Call in the new Committee, where Madam Waller is speaker, and doctress of the chair." It was a saying of Venner, the fifth monarchy man, "that the time would come, when the handmaid of the Lord would make no more of killing a man, than of. Thurloe's State Papers, vol. 6. p. 185.

v. 813. And do they not as triers sit, &c.] "The House considered in the next place, that diverse weak persons have crept into places beyond their abilities; and to the end that men of greater parts may be put into their rooms, they appointed the Lady Middlesex, Mrs. Dunch, the Lady Foster, the Lady Anne Waller, by reason of their great experience in soldiery in the kingdom, to be a committee of tryers for the business."

Have they? At that an egg let fly,
Hit him directly o'er the eye,
And running down his cheek, besmear'd
With orange-tawny slime, his beard;
But beard and slime being of one hue,
The wound the less appear'd in view.
Then he that on the panniers rode,
Let fly on th' other side a load;
And quickly charg'd again, gave fully
In Ralpho's face, another volley.

815

820

The Knight was startled with the smell, 825
And for his sword began to feel:

And Ralpho, smother'd with the stink,
Grasp'd his; when one that bore a link,
O' th' sudden clapp'd his flaming cudgel,
Like linstock, to the horse's touch-hole; 830

(The Parliament of Ladies, or, Divers remarkable Passages of Ladies in Spring Garden in Parliament assembled: printed in the yeare 1647, p. 6.)

v. 815, 816.- -at that an egg let fly,-Hit him directly o'er the eye] This is as merry an adventure, as that of the bear-baiting: our heroes are sooner assaulted than they expected, even before the Knight had ended his eloquent speech: it was a great affront, and breach of good manners in the rabble, to use so worthy a personage in this manner: they had no Talgol to make a reply, but shewed their contempt of authority, by immediately falling into action with it's representative: he, indeed, had little reason to look for better usage than he met with the day before on a like occasion: but he was of too obstinate a temper, to learn any thing from experience; this makes his case different from all other unfortunate heroes: for instead of pitying, we laugh at him. (Mr. B.)

v. 818. With orange-tawny slime, his beard] Alluding probably to Bottom the Weaver, in Shakespear, (Midsummer Night's Dream, vol. 1. p. 89) who asks, in what beard he shall play the part of Pyramus ? "whether in a perfect yellow beard, an orange-tawney beard, or a purplein-grain beard.”

And straight another with his flambeau,
Gave Ralpho's o'er the eyes a damn'd blow.
The beasts began to kick, and fling,

And forc'd the rout to make a ring:
Through which they quickly broke their
And brought them off from further fray;
And though disorder'd in retreat,
Each of them stoutly kept his seat:
For quitting both their swords and reins,

way, 835

They grasp'd with all their strength the manes, 840
And to avoid the foe's pursuit,

With spurring put their cattle to't;
And till all four were out of wind,
And danger too, ne'er look'd behind.
After th' had paus'd a while, supplying
Their spirits, spent with fight and flying,

845

v. 843, 844. And till all four were out of wind,— And danger too, ne'er look'd behind] See Don Quixote, vol. 3. chap. 27. p. 275. This is a sneer probably upon the Earl of Argyle, who more than once fled from Montrose, and never looked behind till he was quite out of danger; as at Inverary, 1644; (Bishop Guthry's Memoirs, p. 136.) at Innerlochie, where he betook himself to his boat; (Guthry, p. 140.) at Kilsyth he fled, and never looked over his shoulder until after twenty miles riding he reached the South Queen's Ferry, where he possessed himself again of his boat; (Guthry, p. 154. Bp. Wishart's History of Montrose, p. 117.) from Monroe's army at Sterling Bridge, where he did not look behind him in eighteen miles riding, till he had reached the North Queen's Ferry, and possessed himself of a boat. (Guthry, p. 241. Impartial Examination of Mr. Neal's 4th volume of the History of the Puritans, p. 69.) But thou that time, like many an errant knight, Didst save thy self by virtue of thy flight; Whence now in great request this adage stands, One pair of legs is worth two pair of hands.

Mr. Strangeway's Panegyric upon Tom Coryat, and his Crudities.

And Hudibras recruited force

Of lungs, for action, or discourse:

Quoth he,―That man is sure to lose,
That fouls his hands with dirty foes:
For where no honour's to be gain'd,
'Tis thrown away in being maintain'd;
"Twas ill for us we had to do
With so dishon'rable a foe:

850

855

For though the law of arms doth bar
The use of venom'd shot in war;
Yet by the nauseous smell, and noisome,
Their case-shot savours strong of poison;
And doubtless has been chew'd with teeth
Of some that had a stinking breath;
Else when we put it to the push,

They had not giv'n us such a brush:
But as those poltroons that fling dirt,
Do but defile, but cannot hurt;

860

So all the honour they have won,

865

Or we have lost, is much at one.
"Twas well we made so resolute
A brave retreat, without pursuit ;
For if we had not, we had sped

Much worse, to be in triumph led;

870

v. 859, 860. And doubtless have been chew'd with teeth― Of some that had a stinking breath.] "Tis probable that Oldham had these lines in view, when he wrote his Character of an Ugly Parson, (see Remains, p. 109. edit. 1703.) "who by his scent might be winded by a good nose at twelve score. I durst have ventured (says he) at first being in company, to have affirmed that he dieted on assa-fœtida," &c.

v. 868.

editions of 1664.

without pursuit ;] T" avoid pursuit, in the two first

Than which the Ancients held no state

Of man's life more unfortunate.

But if this bold adventure e'er

Do chance to reach the widow's ear,

It may, being destin'd to assert
Her sex's honour, reach her heart:
And as such homely treats, they say,
Portend good fortune, so this may.
Vespasian being daub'd with dirt,
Was destin❜d to the empire for't;

875

880

v. 877, 878. And as such homely treats (they say,) - Portend good fortune -] The original of the coarse proverb here alluded to took its rise from the glorious battle of Agincourt, when the English were so afflicted with the dysentery, that most of them chose to fight naked from the girdle downward. (Mr.W.) See Rapin's History of England, by Tindal, folio, vol. 1. p. 513. Lediard's Naval History, vol. 1. chap. 15. p. 65. Battle of Agincourt, Old Ballads 1723. vol. 2. p. 83. In memory of this famous victory, King Henry the Fifth instituted a herald for that part of France subject to England, with the stile of Agincourt: as Edward the First had before given the title of Guyen to another. (See Historical and Critical Essay on the true Rise of Nobility, &c. 2d edit. 1720. vol. 2. p. 722.)

There's another proverb gives the Rump for his crest,

But Alderman Atkins made it a jest:

That of all kind of luck, shitten luck is the best.

(Re-Resurrection of the Rump, Loyal Songs, vol. 2. No. 10. p. 39.) v. 879. Vespasian being daub'd with dirt, &c.] This and the five following lines not in the two first editions of 1664, added in 1674. The Corcyrans of old took a slovenly freedom, which occasioned the proverb: Ελευθερα Κέρκυρα, Χέζ ὅπως θέλεις :

Libera Corcyra, Caca ubi libet :

Cum significamus libertatem quidvis agendi.

(Erasmi Adag. chil. 4. Cant. 1. Prov. 2.)

Of this opinion Oliver Cromwell seems to have been, who daubed himself with something worse upon the revels kept by his uncle Sir Oliver Crom. well for the entertainment of King James the First; for which his uncle