Have I, quoth he, been ta'en in fight,545
And for so many moons lain by 't,
And when all other means did fail,
Have been exchang'd for tubs of ale?[1]
Not but they thought me worth a ransom
Much more consid'rable and handsome;550
But for their own sakes, and for fear
They were not safe, when I was there;
Now to be baffled by a scoundrel,
An upstart sect'ry, and a mungrel,[2]
Such as breed out of peccant humours555
Of our own church, like wens or tumours,
And like a maggot in a sore,
Wou'd that which gave it life devour;
It never shall be done or said:
With that he seiz'd upon his blade;[3]560
And Ralpho too, as quick and bold,
Upon his basket-hilt laid hold,
With equal readiness prepar'd,
To draw and stand upon his guard.
When both were parted on the sudden,565
With hideous clamour, and a loud one,
As if all sorts of noise had been
Contracted into one loud din;
Or that some Member to be chosen,
Had got the odds above a thousand;570
And, by the greatness of his noise,
Prov'd fittest for his country's choice.
- ↑ A contemporary note on these lines quoted by Grey, says, "The Knight was kept prisoner in Exeter, and after several changes proposed, but none accepted, was at last released for a barrel of ale, as he used upon all occasions to declare." This identifies Hudibras with a living original, assumed to be Sir Samuel Luke.
- ↑ Thus Don Quixote to Sancho: "How now, opprobrious rascal! stinking garlic-eater! sirrah, I will take you and tie your dogship to a tree, as naked as your mother bore you." See note on lines 187, &c.
- ↑ Grey compares this scene to the contest between Brutus and Cassius, in Shakspeare's Julius Cæsar, Act iv. History relates that the quarrel between the Presbyterians and the Independents proceeded beyond the mere clapping of hand to sword. And Cromwell's victories, all of which were summed up in Dunbar fight, were the proof of what Ralpho's "basket-hilt" could do in such a case.
