CANTO II.]
HUDIBRAS.
387
The activ'st member of the five,
As well as the most primitive;
Who, for his faithful service then,
Is chosen for a fifth agen: 1540
For since the state has made a quint
Of generals, he's listed in't.[1]
This worthy, as the world will say,
Is paid in specie, his own way;
For, moulded to the life, in clouts, 1545
They've pick'd from dunghills hereabouts,
He's mounted on a hazel bavin[2]
A cropp'd malignant baker gave 'em;[3]
And to the largest bonfire riding,
They've roasted Cook already,[4] and Pride in;[5] 1550
On whom, in equipage and state,
His scare-crow fellow-members wait,
And march in order, two and two,
As at thanksgivings th' us'd to do;
Each in a tatter'd talisman, 1555
Like vermin in effigy slain.
But, what's more dreadful than the rest,
Those Rumps are but the Tail o' th' beast,
As well as the most primitive;
Who, for his faithful service then,
Is chosen for a fifth agen: 1540
For since the state has made a quint
Of generals, he's listed in't.[1]
This worthy, as the world will say,
Is paid in specie, his own way;
For, moulded to the life, in clouts, 1545
They've pick'd from dunghills hereabouts,
He's mounted on a hazel bavin[2]
A cropp'd malignant baker gave 'em;[3]
And to the largest bonfire riding,
They've roasted Cook already,[4] and Pride in;[5] 1550
On whom, in equipage and state,
His scare-crow fellow-members wait,
And march in order, two and two,
As at thanksgivings th' us'd to do;
Each in a tatter'd talisman, 1555
Like vermin in effigy slain.
But, what's more dreadful than the rest,
Those Rumps are but the Tail o' th' beast,
- ↑ Quint, that is, a quorum of five. After the death of Cromwell, and the deposition of Richard, the government of the army was put into the hands of seven commissioners, of whom Hazlerig was one. And in 1659, Monk, Hazlerig, Walton, Morley, and Alured, were appointed commissioners to govern the army.
- ↑ A hazel faggot, such as bakers heat their ovens with; a joke on the name Hazlerig.
- ↑ Pillory, and cropping the ears, was a punishment inflicted on bakers who made bad bread or gave short weight. Malignants was the name applied to the royalists.
- ↑ Cook was solicitor at the king's trial, and drew up the charges against him. Clarendon allows him to have been a man of abilities. His defence at his own trial was bold and manly, claiming exemption from responsibility on professional grounds; stating that he had merely acted as a lawyer, taken a fee, and pleaded from a brief. He was hanged at Tyburn. Pride and his "Purge" have been spoken of before.
- ↑ In the early editions, "Pride-m."
what will become of me." "Pooh!" replied Monk, "I will secure you for two-pence." In no long time after, when the secret was out, Hazlerig sent Monk a letter, with two-pence enclosed. See Clarendon's State Papers, vol. iii. Sir Arthur enlisted many soldiers, and had a regiment called his Lobsters.
