To a less noble substance chang'd,
Were now but leathern buckets rang'd.
The ballads, pasted on the wall,
Of Joan of France, and English Mall[1],
Fair Rosamond, and Robinhood,95
The Little Children in the Wood,
Now seem'd to look abundance better,
Improv'd in picture, size, and letter;
And, high in order plac'd, describe
The heraldry of every tribe[2].100
A bedstead of the antique mode,
Compact of timber many a load,
Such as our ancestors did use,
Was metamorphosed into pews;
Which still their ancient nature keep,105
By lodging folks dispos'd to sleep.
The cottage, by such feats as these,
Grown to a church by just degrees,
The hermits then desir'd their host
To ask for what he fancy'd most.110
Philemon, having paus'd a while,
Return'd them thanks in homely style;
Then said, My house is grown so fine,
Methinks, I still would call it mine.
I'm old, and fain would live at ease;115
Make me the parson if you please.
He spoke, and presently he feels
His grazier's coat fall down his heels:
He sees, yet hardly can believe,
About each arm a pudding-sleeve;120
- ↑ Mall Frith, the Roaring Girl. See Granger.
- ↑ The tribes of Israel are sometimes distinguished in country churches by the ensigns given to them by Jacob.
His
