Which he cast off when he had a cough, Hard by, a famous knight there dwelt, For he could wrestle, play at quarter-staff, kick, cuff, and huff, Call very bad names, do any kind of thing. By the tail and the main, with his hands atween, And that which is stranger, he for very anger, These children, as I told, being eat, Men, women, girls, and boys, Sighing and sobbing, came to his lodging, And made a hideous noise; O sore is More of More Hall, Thou peerless knight of these woods, Do but slay the dragon, who wont leave us a lay on, We'll give thee all our goods, Tut, tut, said he, no goods I want, But I want, I want, in sooth, A fair maid of sixteen, that's brisk and keen, Hair black as sloe, skin white as snow, This being done, he did engage, With spikes all about, not within but without, Of steel so sharp and strong, Both behind and before, on his legs and all o'er, Had you but seen him in this dress, How fierce he looked, and how big, You would have thought him to have been no less, Than some muscovy pig. He frightened all; cats, dogs, and all, Each cow, each horse, and each hog, For fear they did flee, for they took him to be To see this fight, all people then On churches some, and chimneys too, He drank by the tale, six pots of ale It is not strength that always wins, 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 hit him in the mouth. Oh! quoth the dragon, pigs take thee without, And then he turned and sneezed at him, Thy breath smells not like balsam, This sneezing of thine, is far from divine, Our politick knight on the other side, And gave the dragon such a drive, He knew not what to think! By Jove, quoth he, say you so, do you see, With hand and with foot, and so they went to it, Your words, quoth the dragon, I don't understand, Like two wild beasts, so fierce, if I may Two days and nights with this dragon did fight, Though their strength it was great, their skill it was real, They never had one wound. At length the hard earth began to quake The dragon gave him a knock, Which made him to reel, and straitway he thought, To lift him as high as a rock, And thence let him fall. But More of More Hall As he came like a lout so he turn'd him about, Oh! quoth the dragon, with his wings a wagging 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 heel, thou hast cleft my And I am undone for ever. Murder, murder, the dragon cry'd, Alack, alack, for grief; Had you but miss'd that place, you could Have done me no mischief. Then his head he shaked, trembled, and squeaked, And down he laid and cry'd, First on one knee, then on his back tumbled he So groan'd and kick'd and died. tail Something about the City of Paris. ARIS is the metropolis of France, as everybody knows; and is one of the richest and largest cities in Europe. It is situated in a valley, on both sides of the river Seine, which is, thereabout, the breadth of the Thames at Richmond. The river crosses from east to west, after forming three considerable islands. The communication between the banks of the river and the Islands, as well as between the different sides of the river, is effected by a great number of bridges, many of which are remarkable for the beauty of their construction. The environs do not exhibit the same variety as those of London; instead of the gardens, parks, and country seats, which surround our great metropolis, Paris on several sides presents large tracts of unenclosed corn-fields. The stream of life in the great streets, crowds of waggons, carriages, and horsemen, is not so great as in the neighbourhood of our metropolis. Most of the streets, however, are wide, watered by numerous fountains, and full of magnificent hotels and shops. |