A Riddle of STATE; OR, THE Parliament Triumphant.
To the Tune of, The Pink Petticoat lac'd Round.
O Brave Parliament!
That Antidotes our Fate;
And cures all our Maladies,
In Church, as well as State:
The Terrour of the Catholicks,
The Overthrow of Rome;
The Guardian of Protestants,
And all Christendom.
In came Bob-tail,
The Boast of the Town;
And she was clad with Midnight,
And mask'd with the Moon.
She looked like a Mair-Maid,
And squinted with her Eye:
But would not pass a Complement,
Nor tell the Reason why.
Then came Charity,
(A sober lovely Lass)
And Pleaded much for Conscience,
That She might have a Pass.
But up 'rose Discord,
And gave her the lye;
Pray, Madam, come another time,
But now stand by.
Then came Jealousie,
(The Mother of Mischief)
And, impudently, termed
State-Policy a Thief.
"She gave a Beggar Sixpence,
"And yet on Tryal found,
"That She had pick'd his Pockets
"Of full Five Pound.
Then came N.—,
Patch'd with her Crimes;
And She had on a Petticoat,
Was turn'd ten times.
Her Limbs were made of Laziness;
Her Pockets full of Gold.
She picked up the Parliament,
For all the Whore was old.
Then came Presbytery,
Whom every one did Mock;
For she had pinn'd unto her britch
The Whore of Babel's Smock.
The Parliament did pity her,
Because they saw her Poor;
But up 'rose Bob-tail,
And kick'd her to the Door.
Next came Popery,
Her Face painted fair;
But when she turn'd about her Tail,
They saw her Buttocks bare:
Her Smock was of Comspiracy,
She wore a Scarlet Gown;
But, e're she ty'd her Top-knot,
They whipt her out of Town.
Then came Cynosure,
And humbly did pray,
To dissipate her Darkness
By one Bright Ray:
But Aries the Club-man
Ecclipsed the Sun:
And Phoebus could not shine, for
The Devil upon Dun.
Then came Gemini,
And fell upon their Knees;
And humbly accosted
The Noble King of Bees:
But, with a starn look,
He thus did reply,
"We can not take Wings,
'Till the Parliament fly.
O Happy is that Subject,
That eats his Honey-comb;
Ne'r troubl'd with the Publick,
But lives in Peace at home:
He's happy that can rule himself,
A Monarch in his Mind.
Contentment is a Treasure, which
High Spirits seldom find.
LONDON, Printed in the Year MDCLXXXIX.