Caricatures and cartoons -- Great Britain; English wit and humor; Great Britain -- History -- Humor; Humorous poetry
John Bunyan The tinker preacher Bunyan wrote
The 'Pilgrim's Progress' we still quote,
The prison bars no barrier wrought
To lowly Bunyan's lofty thought.
Milton In stately language Milton's muse
1678 The Bible story doth diffuse;
From 'Paradise Lost' we get our view
Of Adam and Eve and Satan too.
The Reverend Titus Oates, a scamp,
Egregious Popish plots did vamp,
Lied roundly for dishonest gains,
Got Cat-o'-nine-tails for his pains.
Habeas Corpus The 'Habeas Corpus' best of laws
1679 Shields us from prison without cause;
'Twas passed in sixteen-seventy-nine,
And means 'Produce him here,' in fine.
Van Tromp Admiral Van Tromp, Dutchman bold,
With broom at masthead, so 'tis told,
The Channel sailed, suggesting he's
Swept all the English from the seas.
Blake But Blake laughed loud and spread his sails
Nought the Dutchman now avails;
For he got an awful shocker
Right to Davy Jones' locker.
But though the Dutch failed to invade,
They were not disinclined to trade;
So we get 'Hollands,' cheese and hams
Fresh from the land of Dykes and Dams.
Peace of Breda For fifteen years these Navies fought,
1667 'Till sixteen-six-seven respite brought;
The Peace of Breda then succeeded;
New York to England was conceded.
Plague In sixty-five the Plague appears
Fire of London And then the Fire; two awful years
1665-1666 For London--And if more you'd know
Consult the Pages of Defoe.
[Illustration: IRON JELLOIDS The Great Tonic
_QUEEN ANNE AND THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH._]
James II. When Charles Two died his brother James
1685-1688 Soon put the country into flames;
Papistry he would advance,
And for that purpose leagued with France.
In sixteen-eight-eight his bigot zeal
Religious Test Act would repeal;
Seven bold Bishops who defied
To the Tower were sent and tried.
The country raised a hue and cry
So off to France the King doth fly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account