CANTO II.]
HUDIBRAS.
343
For by the witchcraft of rebellion
Transform'd t' a feeble state-camelion,[1] 370
By giving aim from side to side,
He never fail'd to save his tide,
But got the start of ev'ry state,
And at a change, ne'er came too late;
Could turn his word, and oath, and faith, 375
As many ways as in a lathe;
By turning, wriggle, like a screw,
Int' highest trust, and out, for new:
For when he'd happily incurred,
Instead of hemp, to be preferr'd, 380
And pass'd upon a government,[2]
He play'd his trick, and out he went;
But being out, and out of hopes
To mount his ladder, more, of ropes,[3]
Would strive to raise himself upon 385
The public ruin, and his own;
So little did he understand
The desp'rate feats he took in hand,
For when he 'ad got himself a name
For frauds and tricks he spoil'd his game; 390
Had forc'd his neck into a noose,
To show his play at fast and loose;[4]
And, when he chanc'd t' escape, mistook,
For art and subtlety, his luck.
So right his judgment was cut fit, 395
And made a tally to his wit,
And both together most profound
At deeds of darkness under-ground;
Transform'd t' a feeble state-camelion,[1] 370
By giving aim from side to side,
He never fail'd to save his tide,
But got the start of ev'ry state,
And at a change, ne'er came too late;
Could turn his word, and oath, and faith, 375
As many ways as in a lathe;
By turning, wriggle, like a screw,
Int' highest trust, and out, for new:
For when he'd happily incurred,
Instead of hemp, to be preferr'd, 380
And pass'd upon a government,[2]
He play'd his trick, and out he went;
But being out, and out of hopes
To mount his ladder, more, of ropes,[3]
Would strive to raise himself upon 385
The public ruin, and his own;
So little did he understand
The desp'rate feats he took in hand,
For when he 'ad got himself a name
For frauds and tricks he spoil'd his game; 390
Had forc'd his neck into a noose,
To show his play at fast and loose;[4]
And, when he chanc'd t' escape, mistook,
For art and subtlety, his luck.
So right his judgment was cut fit, 395
And made a tally to his wit,
And both together most profound
At deeds of darkness under-ground;
- ↑ The camelion is said to assume the colour of the nearest object.
- ↑ That is, passed himself upon the government.
- ↑ It was in clandestine designs, such as house-breaking and the like, that rope-ladders were chiefly used in our poet's time.
- ↑ Fast and loose, called also Pricking at the belt, or girdle, or garter, a cheating game still in vogue among gypsies and trampers at fairs. A leathern belt or garter is coiled up in intricate folds, but with all the appearance of having an ordinary centre, and then placed upon a table. The object of the player is to prick the centre fold with a skewer, so as to hold fast the belt, but the trickster takes hold of the ends, which are double, and draws the whole away. The game is now commonly played with a piece of list, and called Pricking at the garter. Shakspeare alludes to it in Antony and Cleopatra, Act iv. sc. 10, and in Love's Labour Lost, Act iii. sc. I.
