He was well stay'd, and in his gait
Preferv'd a grave, majestic state;
At fpur or fwitch no more he skipt,
Or mended pace, than Spaniard whipts
And yet fo fiery, he would bound
As if he griev'd to touch the ground;
That Cæfar's horfe, who, as fame goes,
Had corns upon his feet and toes,
Was not by half so tender-hooft,
Nor trod upon the ground fo foft;
And as that beast would kneel and stoop
(Some write) to take his rider up;
So Hudibras's ('tis well known)
Would often do to fet him down.
We shall not need to say what lack
Of leather was upon his back;
For that was hidden under pad,
And breech of Knight gall'd full as bad
His ftrutting ribs on both fides fhow'd
Like furrows he himself had plow'd;
For underneath the skirt of pannel,
'Twixt every two there was a channel:
His draggling tail hung in the dirt,

འ ་

Which on his rider he would flurt,

Still as his tender fide he prickt,

With arm'd heel, or with unarm'd, kickt;
For Hudibras wore but one fpur,
As wifely knowing could he stir
To active trot one fide of 's horse,
The other would not hang an arfe.

450

455

A Squire

A Squire he had whofe name was Ralph,
That in th' adventure went his half,
Though writers, for more ftately tone,
Do call him Ralpho, 'tis all one;

460

And when we can, with metre fafe,

We'll call him fo; if not, plain Raph;

(For rhyme the rudder is of verfes,

With which, like fhips, they fteer their courfes.)
An equal stock of wit and valour

465

Of golden bough, but truc gold-lace:

His

Ver. 457.]. Sir Roger L'Eftrange (Key to Hudibras) fays, This famous Squire was one Ifaac Robinson, a zealous butcher in Moor-fields, who was always contriving fome new querpo cut in church government but, in a Key at the end of a burlefque poem of Mr. Butler's, 1706, in folio, p. 12. it is obferved, "That "Hudibras's Squire was one Pemble a tailor, and one of the Committee of Sequeftrators."

His knowledge was not far behind

The Knight's, but of another kind,

480

And he another way came by't;

Some call it Gifts, and fome New-light;
A liberal art, that costs no pains
Of study, industry, or brains.
His wit was fent him for a token,

485

But in the carriage crack'd and broken;

Like commendation nine-pence crookf

With "To and from my love"-it lookt.
He ne'er confider'd it, as loth

By means of this, with hem and cough,
Prolongers to enlighten'd stuff,

He

Ver. 485.] His wits were fent him, in all editions to 1704 inclufive.

Ver. 487. 488.] Until the year 1696, when all mo ney, not milled, was called in, a ninepenny piece of filver was as common as fixpences or fhillings, and thefe ninepences were ufually bent as fixpences com> monly are now, which bending was called, "To my love, and From my love ;" and fuch ninepences the ordinary fellows gave or fent to their fweethearts as tokens of love.

He could deep mysteries unriddle,

As easily as thread a needle:
For as of vagabonds we say,

૬૦૦

That they are ne'er beside their way,
Whate'er men fpeak by this New-light,

Still they are fure to be i' th' right.

'Tis a dark-lantern of the Spirit,

505

Which none fee by but those that bear it;

To dive, like wild-fowl, for falvation,

And fish to catch regeneration.

This light infpires and plays upon
The nofe of faint, like bag-pipe drone,
And fpeaks, through hollow empty foul,
As through a trunk, or whispering-hole,
Such language as no mortal ear

But fpirit'al eaves-droppers can hear :
So Phœbus, or some friendly Muse,

515

520

Ver. 511.] Alluding to Ralpho's religion, who was,

probably, an Anabaptift or Dipper.

The ancient cup, or modern chair;
Spoke truth point blank, though unaware.
For myftic learning, wondrous able
In magic, talisman, and cabal,

530

Whose primitive tradition reaches

As far as Adam's first green breeches ;
Deep-fighted in intelligences,

When they cry Rope, and Walk, knave, walk,

He'd extract numbers out of matter,

And keep them in a glass, like water,

Ver. 546.] Alluding to the Philofopher's Stone..

Of