And 'till th' were storm'd and beaten out,

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Ne'er left the fortify'd redoubt.

And tho' Knights Errant, as some think,
Of old did neither eat nor drink,

:

"Tis false for a ARTHUR wore in hall
Round table like a farthingal,

On which with shirt pull'd out behind,
And eke before, his good Knights din'd.
Though 'twas no table, some suppose,
But a huge pair of round trunk hose;
In which he carry'd as much meat

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We leave it, and to th' purpose come.

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His puissant sword unto his side,

Near his undaunted heart,. was ty'd;

1

353

With basket-bilt, that wou'd hold broth,
And serve for fight and dinner both.
In it he melted lead for bullets,
To shoot at foes, and sometimes pullets,
To whom he bore so fell a grutch,
He ne'er gave quarter t' any such.
The trenchant blade, b Toledo trusty,
For want of fighting, was grown rusty,
And ate unto itself, for lack
Of somebody to hew and hack.
The peaceful scabbard where it dwelt
The rancour of its edge had felt;
For of the lower end two handful

It had devour'd, 'twas so manful;

And so much scorn'd to lurk in case,

As if it durst not shew its face.

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365

In many desperate attempts,
Of warrants, exigents, contempts,
It had appear'd with courage bolder

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Than Serjeant Buм invading shoulder.
Oft had it ta'en possession,

And pris'ners too, or made them run.
This sword a dagger had t' his page,

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That was but little for his age;
And therefore waited on him so,
As dwarfs upon Knights Errant do.
It was a serviceable dudgeon,
Either for fighting or for drudging.
When it had stabb'd, or broke a head,

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It would scrape trenchers, or chip bread;

Toast cheese or bacon; tho' it were

To bait a mouse-trap, 'twould not care.

'Twould make clean shoes; and in the earth

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Set leeks and onions, and so forth.

It had been 'prentice to a brewer,
Where this and more it did endure;
But left the trade, e as many more
Have lately done on the same score,
In th' holsters, at his saddle-bow,
Two aged pistols he did stow,
Among the surplus of such meat

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As in his hose he cou'd not get.

These wou'd inveigle rats with th' scent,

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To forage when the cocks were bent;

And sometimes catch 'em with a snap
As cleverly as th' ablest trap.

They were upon hard duty still,

And ev'ry night stood centinel,

To guard the magazine i' th' hose

From two-legg'd and from four-legg'd foes.
Thus clad and fortify'd, Sir Knight
From peaceful home set forth to fight.
But first with nimble, active force
He got on th' outside of his horse;
For having but one stirrup ty'd
T'his saddle, on the further side,
It was so short, h' had much add
To reach it with his desp'rate toe:
But, after many strains and heaves,

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410

He got up to the saddle-eaves,

From whence he vaulted into th' seat,

With so much vigour, strength and heat,
That he had almost tumbled over

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With his own weight, but did recover,

By laying hold on tail and main,
Which oft he us'd instead of rein.
But now we talk of mounting steed.
Before we further do proceed,

C

420

It doth behoves us to say something
Of that which bore our valiant bumkin.
The beast was sturdy, large, and tall,
With mouth of meal, and eyes of wall.
I wou'd say eye; for h' had but one,
As most agree; tho' some say none.
He was well stay'd; and in his gait
Preserv'd a grave, majestick state.
At spur or switch no more he skipt,
Or mended pace, than Spaniard whipt;
And yet so fiery, he wou'd bound
As if he griev'd to touch the ground:

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That CESAR's horsed, who, as fame goes
Had corns upon his feet and toes,

Was not by half so tender hooft,

435

Nor trod upon the ground so soft.

And as that beast would kneel and stoop
(Some write) to take his rider up,
SO HUDIBRAS his ('tis well known)
Wou'd often do to set him down.

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We shall not need to say what lack

Of leather was upon his back;

For that was hidden under pad,

And breech of Knight, gall'd full as bad.
His strutting ribs on both sides show'd
Like furrows he himself had plow'd;
For underneath the skirt of pannel,
'Twixt ev'ry two there was a channel.
His draggling tail hung in the dirt,
Which on his rider he wou'd flurt,

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Still as his tender side he prick'd,

With arm'd heel, or with unarm'd kick'd :

For HUDIBRAS wore but one spur;

As wisely knowing, cou'd he stir

To active trot one side of's horse,

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The other wou'd not hang an arse.

A squire he had, whose name was RALPH,

That in th' adventure went his half :

Though writers, for more stately tone,

Do call him RALPHO; 'tis all one ;

460

And when we can with metre safe,

We'll call him so; if not, plain RALPH :

(For rhyme the rudder is of veršes,

With which like ships they steer their courses.)
An equal stock of wit and valour

465

As the f bold Trojan Knight, seen Hell.;

Not with a counterfeited pass

Of golden bough, but true gold-lace.

His knowledge was not far behind

The Knight's, but of another kind,

480

And he another way came by 't:

Some call it GIFTS, and some NEW-LIGHT;
A liberal art, that costs no pains
Of study, industry, or brains.
His wit was sent him for a token,

But in the carriage crack'd and broken.
Like commendation nine-pence crook'd,
With-To and from my love-it look'd.

485