And now the turnpike gates again
Flew
open

in short space; The toll-men thinking as before,

That Gilpin rode a race.
And so he did, and won it too,

For he got first to town;
Nor stopp'd till where he had got up

He did again get down.
Now let us sing, long live the king,

And Gilpin, long live he;
And, when he next doth ride abroad,

May I be there to see!

THE

YEARLY DISTRESS;

OR,

TITHING-TIME AT STOCK IN ESSEX.

VERSES ADDRESSED TO A COUNTRY CLERGYMAN, COMPLAIN

ING OF THE DISAGREEABLENESS OF THE DAY ANNUALLY APPOINTED FOR RECEIVING THE DUES AT THE PARSONAGE.

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COME, ponder well, for 'tis no jest,
To laugh

would be wrong; The troubles of a worthy priest

The burden of my song.
The priest he merry is and blithe

Three quarters of the year,
But oh! it cuts him like a scythe

When tithing-time draws near.

He then is full of frights and fears,

As one at point to die,
And long before the day appears

He heaves up many a sigh.
For then the farmers come, jog, jog,

Along the miry road,
Each heart as heavy as a log,

To make their payments good.
In sooth the sorrow of such days

Is not to be express’d,
When he that takes and he that pays

Are both alike distress'd.
Now all unwelcome at his gates

The clumsy swains alight,
With rueful faces and bald pates-

He trembles at the sight.
And well he may, for well he knows

Each bumpkin of the clan,
Instead of paying what he owes,

Will cheat him if he can.
So in they come-each makes his leg,

And Alings his head before,
And looks as if he came to beg,

And not to quit a score.
• And how does miss and madam do,

The little boy and all ?
• All tight and well. And how do

you,
Good Mr. What-d'ye-call?'
The dinner comes, and down they sit:

Were e'er such hungry folk?
There's little talking, and no wit;

It is no time to joke.

One wipes his nose upon his sleeve,

One spits upon the floor,
Yet not to give offence or grieve,
Holds

up

the cloth before. The punch goes round, and they are dull

And lumpish still as ever;
Like barrels with their bellies full,

They only weigh the heavier,
At length the busy time begins,

• Come, neighbours, we must wag.” The money chinks, down drop their chins,

Each lugging out his bag.
One talks of mildew and of frost,

And one of storms and hail,
And one of pigs that he has lost

By maggots at the tail.
Quoth one,' A rarer man than you

In pulpit none shall hear;
But yet, methinks, to tell you true,

You sell it plaguy dear.'
0, why are farmers made so coarse,

Or clergy made so fine?
A kick that scarce would move a horse,

May kill a sound divine.
Then let the boobies stay at home;

"Twould cost him, I dare say, Less trouble taking twice the sum,

Without the clowns that pay.

WHEN, long sequester'd from his throne,

George took his seat again,
By right of worth, not blood alone,

Entitled here to reign.
Then, Loyalty, with all his lamps

New-trimm'd, a gallant show!
Chasing the darkness and the damps,

Set London in a glow.
'Twas hard to tell of streets or squares,

Which form’d the chief display,
These most resembling cluster'd stars,

Those the long milky way.
Bright shone the roofs, the domes, the spires,

And rockets flew, self-driven,
To hang their momentary fires

Amid the vault of heaven.
So, fire with water to compare,

The ocean serves, on high
Up-spouted by a whale in air,

To' express unwieldy joy.
Had all the pageants of the world

In one procession join'd,
And all the banners been unfurld
That heralds e'er design’d;

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For no such sight had England's Queen

Forsaken her retreat,
Where George, recover’d, made a scene

Sweet always, doubly sweet.
Yet glad she came that night to prove,

A witness undescried,
How much the object of her love

Was loved by all beside.
Darkness the skies had mantled o'er

In aid of her design-
Darkness, O Queen! ne'er call'd before

To veil a deed of thine!
On borrow'd wheels away she flies,

Resolved to be unknown,
And gratify no curious eyes

That night, except her own. Arrived, a night like noon she sees,

And hears the million hum; As all by instinct, like the bees,

Had known their sovereign come. Pleased she beheld aloft portray'd,

On many a splendid wall, Emblems of health and heavenly aid,

And George the theme of all.
Unlike the enigmatic line,

So difficult to spell,
Which shook Belshazzar at his wine

The night his city fell.
Soon watery grew her eyes and dim,

But with a joyful tear,
None else, except in prayer for him,

George ever drew from her.

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