And, when these fail'd, he'd suck his claws,
And quarter himself upon his paws.
And tho' his countrymen, the Huns, 275
Did stew their meat between their bums
And th' horses' backs o'er which they straddle,[1]
And every man ate up his saddle;
He was not half so nice as they,
But ate it raw when't came in's way. 280
He had traced countries far and near,
More than Le Blanc the traveller;
Who writes, he 'spoused in India,[2]
Of noble house, a lady gay,
And got on her a race of worthies, 285
As stout as any upon earth is.
Full many a fight for him between
Talgol and Orsin oft had been.
Each striving to deserve the crown
Of a saved citizen;[3] the one 290
To guard his bear, the other fought
To aid his dog; both made more stout
By sev'ral spurs of neighbourhood,
Church-fellow-membership, and blood;
But Talgol, mortal foe to cows, 295
Never got ought of him but blows;
Blows hard and heavy, such as he
Had lent, repaid with usury.
Yet Talgol[4] was of courage stout,
And vanquish'd oft'ner than he fought; 300
Inured to labour, sweat, and toil,
And like a champion, shone with oil.[5]
- ↑ This fact is related by Ammianus Marcellinus. With such fare did Azim Khan entertain Jenkinson, and other Englishmen, in their Travels to the Caspian Sea from the river Volga. See Busbequius' Letters, Ep. iv.
- ↑ Le Blanc tells the story of Aganda, a king's daughter, who married a bear.
- ↑ He, who saved the life of a Roman citizen, was entitled to a civic crown; and so, says our author, were Talgol and Orsin, who fought hard to save the lives of their dogs and bears.
- ↑ Talgol was, we are told by Sir Roger L'Estrange, a butcher in Newgate Market, who afterwards obtained a captain's commission for his rebellious bravery at Naseby.
- ↑ The greasiness of a butcher compared with that of the Greek and Roman wrestlers, who anointed themselves with oil to make their joints supple.
