For, as the Roman conqueror, 675
That put an end to foreign war,
Ent'ring the town in triumph for it,
Bore a slave with him in his chariot;[1]
So this insulting female brave
Carries behind her here a slave: 680
And as the ancients long ago,
When they in field defy'd the foe,
Hung out their mantles della guerre,[2]
So her proud standard-bearer here,
Waves on his spear, in dreadful manner, 685
A Tyrian petticoat for banner.[3]
Next links and torches, heretofore
Still borne before the emperor:
And, as in antique triumphs, eggs
Were borne for mystical intrigues;[4] 690
There's one with truncheon, like a ladle,
That carries eggs too, fresh or adle:
And still at random, as he goes,
Among the rabble-rout bestows.
Quoth Ralpho, You mistake the matter; 695
For all th' antiquity you smatter
Is but a riding, us'd of course
When the grey mare's the better horse;[5]
When o'er the breeches greedy women
Fight, to extend their vast dominion, 700
And in the cause impatient Grizel
Has drubb'd her husband with bull's pizzle,
And brought him under covert baron,[6]
To turn her vassal with a murrain;
- ↑ See Juv. Sat. x. 42 (Bohn's transl., pp. 105 and 443).
- ↑ The red flag; which has always been taken as a menace of battle á l'outrance.
- ↑ A scarlet petticoat, then worn so commonly. Butler has in mind the ancient poets, who are loud in their praise of Tyrian vestments, especially Ovid, Catullus, Tibullus, and Propertius.
- ↑ In the orgies of Bacchus, and the games of Ceres, eggs were carried, and had a mystical import. In the edition of 1689, and some others, antique is spelt "antick," and perhaps was intended to signify "mimic," as well as "ancient," which is the more probable, as eggs were never used on real triumphs.
- ↑ Handbook of Proverbs, p. 170.
- ↑ The wife is said in law to be covert-baron, or under the protection and influence of her husband, her lord and baron.
