'Tis falfe; for 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
As he and all the knights could cat,

340

We leave it, and to th' purpose come.

350

He ne'er gave quarter to any fuch.
The trenchant blade, Toledo trusty,
For want of fighting was grown rusty,
And ate into itself, for lack

360

Of fomebody to hew and hack:

The peaceful fcabbard, where it dwelt,
The rancour of its edge had felt;

For of the lower end two handful

It had devoured, 'twas fo manful,

365

And

Than Serjeant Bum invading shoulder:
Oft had it ta'en poffeffion,

And prisoners too, or made them run.
This fword a dagger had, his page,
That was but little for his age,
And therefore waited on him fo,
As dwarfs upon knights-errant do:
It was a ferviceable dudgeon,
Either for fighting or for drudging:
When it had ftabb'd, or broke a head,
It would scrape trenchers, or chip bread;
Toast cheese or bacon; though it were
To bait a moufe-trap, 'twould not care :
'Twould make clean fhoes, and in the earth,
Set leeks and onions, and fo forth.
It had been 'prentice to a brewer,
Where this and more it did endure,
But left the trade, as many more
Have lately done on the fame score..

In th' holsters, at his faddle-bow,

Two aged pistols he did stow,
Among the furplus of fuch meat
As in his hofe he could not get:
Thefe would inveigle rats with th' fcent,
To forage when the cocks were bent,

375.

380

3,85

390

395

Only to shew with how small pain
The fores of Faith are cur'd again;
Although by woeful proof we find
They always leave a fcar behind.
He knew the feat of Paradise,
Could tell in what degree it lies,

170

And, as he was dispos'd, could prove it

175

Below the moon, or else above it;

What Adam dreamt of, when his bride

Came from her closet in his fide;
Whether the Devil tempted her
By a High-Dutch interpreter;
If either of them had a navel;
Who first made mufic malleable;
Whether the Serpent, at the Fall,
Had cloven feet, or none at all:
All this, without a glofs or comment,
He could unriddle in a moment,

In proper terms, fuch as men fmatter

When they throw out and mifs the matter.

For his religion, it was fit

To match his learning and his wit;

180

185

190

'Twas

Ver. 181. Several of the Ancients have fuppofed that Adam and Eve had no navels; and, among the Moderns, the late learned Bishop Cumberland was of this opinion.

Ver. 189.] Mr. Butler is very exact in delineating his hero's religion; it was neceffary that he should be fo, that the reader might judge whether he was a proper person to set up for a Reformer, and whether the

3

religion

'Twas Presbyterian true blue;

For he was of that stubborn crew

Of errant faints, whom all men grant

To be the true Church Militant;
Such as do build their faith upon

The holy text of pike and

Decide all controverfies by
Infallible artillery;

gun;

And prove their doctrine orthodox,
By apoftolic blows and knocks;
Call fire, and fword, and defolation,
A godly, thorough Reformation,

195

200

Which

religion he profeffed was more eligible than that he endeavoured to demolifh. Whether the Poet has been juft in the pourtrait must be left to every reader's obfervation.

Ver. 193, 194.] Where Prefbytery has been established, it has been ufually effected by force of arms, like the religion of Mahomet: thus it was established at Geneva in Switzerland, Hoiland, Scotland, &c. In France, for fome time, by that means, it obtained a toleration: much blood was fhed to get it established in England; and once, during that Grand Rebellion, it seemed very near gaining an establishment here.

Ver. 195, 196.] Upon thefe Cornet Joyce built his faith, when he carried away the King, by force, from Holdenby: for when his Majesty asked him for a fight of his inftructions, Joyce faid, He should fee them prefently; and fo drawing up his troop in the inward court, "Thefe, Sir, (faid the Cornet) are my in"ftructions."

Ver. 199, 200.] Many inftances of that kind are given by Dr. Walker, in his Sufferings of the Epifcopal Clergy.

Which always must be carry'd on,

And still be doing, never done;
As if Religion were intended
For nothing else but to be mended:
A fect whofe chief devotion lies.
In odd perverfe antipathies ;
In falling out with that or this,
And finding fomewhat ftill amifs;
More peevish, cross, and fplenetick,
Than dog distract, or monkey fick;
'That with more care keep holy-day
The wrong, than others the right way;
Compound for fins they are inclin'd to,
By damning those they have no mind to:
Still fo perverse and oppofite,
As if they worship'd God for spite:
The self-same thing they will abhor.
Qne way, and long another for:
Free-will they one way difavow,
Another, nothing else allow :.

205

210

215

220

All

Ver. 207, 208.] The religion of the Presbyterians of those times confifted principally in an oppofition to the Church of England, and in quarreling with the moft innocent, cuftoms, then in ufe, as the eating Chriftmas-pies and plum-porridge at Christmas, which they reputed finful.

Ver. 213, 214.] They were fo remarkably obftinate in this refpect, that they kept a fast upon Christmasday.

Ver. 215, 216.] Added in 1674.