4.
All sorts of cattle this dragon would eat;

Some say he ate up trees,
And that the forests sure he would

Devour up by degrees :
For houses and churches were to him geese and turkeys;

He ate all and left none behind,
But some stones, dear Jack, that he could not crack,

Which on the hills you will find.

5.
Hard by a furious knight there dwelt;

Men, women, girls, and boys,
Sighing and sobbing, came to his lodging,

And made a hideous noise,
O save us all, More of More-hall,

Thou peerless knight of these woods;
Do but slay this dragon, who won't leave us a rag on,

We 'll give thee all our goods.

a

6. This being done, he did engage

To hew the dragon down ;
But first he went new armour to

Bespeak at Sheffield town;
With spikes all about, not within but without,

Of steel so sharp and strong,
Both behind and before, arms, legs, and all o'er,

Some five or six inches long.

7. Had

you but seen him in this dress, How fierce he looked, and how big, You would have thought him for to be

Some Egyptian porcupig:

Each cow,

He frighted all, cats, dogs, and all,

each horse, and each hog: For fear they did flee, for they took him to be

Some strange, outlandish hedgehog.

8.
To see this fight all people then

Got up on trees and houses,
On churches some, and chimneys too;

But these put on their trousers,
Not to spoil their hose. As soon as

he

rose, To make him strong and mighty, He drank, by the tale, six pots of ale,

And a quart of aqua-vitæ.

9. It is not strength that always wins,

For wit doth strength excel;
Which made our cunning champion

Creep down into a well,
Where he did think this dragon would drink,

And so he did in truth;
And as he stooped low, he rose up and cried, Boh!

And kicked him in the mouth.

10.

6

Oh,' quoth the dragon with a deep sigh,

And turned six times together,
Sobbing and tearing, cursing and swearing,

Out of his throat of leather:
More of More-hall, O thou rascal,

Would I had seen thee never; With the thing at thy foot thou hast pricked my throat,

And I'm quite undone for ever.

6

Had you

11. Murder! murder !' the dragon cried, Alack, alack, for grief;

but missed that place, you could
Have done me no mischief.'
Then his head he shaked, trembled and quaked,

And down he laid and cried ;
First on one knee, then on back tumbled he;

So groaned, and kicked, and died !

BLACK-EYED SUSAN.

1. All in the Downs the fleet was moored,

The streamers waving in the wind,
When black-eyed Susan came aboard ;

Oh! where shall I my true-love find ?
Tell me, ye jovial sailors, tell me true
If my sweet William sails among the crew.'

2.
William, who high upon the yard

Rocked with the billow to and fro,
Soon as her well-known voice he heard

He sighed, and cast his eyes below :
The cord slides swiftly through his glowing hands,
And quick as lightning on the deck he stands.

3.
So the sweet lark, high poised in air,

Shuts close his pinions to his breast
If chance his mate's shrill call he hear,

And drops at once into her nest:

The noblest captain in the British fleet
Might envy William's lip those kisses sweet.

4. O Susan, Susan, lovely dear,

My vows shall ever true remain ; Let me kiss off that falling tear;

We only part to meet again. Change as ye list, ye winds; my heart shall be The faithful compass that still points to thee.

5. · Believe not what the landmen say,

Who tempt with doubts thy constant mind : They'll tell thee, sailors, when away,

In every port a mistress find :
Yes, yes, believe them when they tell thee so,
For thou art present wheresoe'er I go.

6. • If to fair India's coast we sail,

Thy eyes are seen in diamonds bright;
Thy breath is Afric's spicy gale;

Thy skin is ivory so white.
Thus every beauteous object that I view,
Wakes in my soul some charm of lovely Sue.

7. Though battle call me from thy arms,

Let not my pretty Susan mourn; Though cannons roar, yet safe from harms

William shall to his dear return. Love turns aside the balls that round me fly, Lest precious tears should drop from Susan's eye.'

8.
The boatswain gave the dreadful word,

The sails their swelling bosom spread;
No longer must she stay aboard ;

They kissed, she sighed, he hung his head.
Her lessening boat unwilling rows to land;
• Adieu !' she cries; and waves her lily hand.

JOSEPH II. AND THE GRENADIER.

The Emperor Joseph II. of Austria was very fond of seeking for adventures. One morning, dressed in a very ordinary way, he got into a public conveyance, and told the driver to take him through the town. The cab having been obstructed by some carts, a soldier came up to the disguised monarch and said : Comrade, will you give me

a lift?'

Emperor. Gladly; jump up quickly, for I am in a hurry.

Soldier. Ah! you are a fine fellow; you only want moustaches to look like a soldier. Tell me now (Tapping his royal neighbour on the shoulder), are you a good hand at guessing?

Emperor. Maybe I am. Try.

Soldier. Well then, friend, give your whole mind to it, and tell me what I ate this morning for breakfast ?

Emperor. Saurkraut, and a cup of coffee.
Soldier. Better than that.
Emperor. A slice of ham, then.
Soldier. Better than that.