RECITATIVE. Upon the ground hard by poor _Sawney_ sate, Who fed his nose, and scratch'd his ruddy pate; But when _Old England's_ bulwark he descry'd, His dear-lov'd mull, alas! was thrown aside. With lifted hands he bless'd his native place, Then scrub'd himself, and thus bewail'd his case: AIR. _The Broom of Cowdenknows_, &c. How hard, O _Sawney!_ is thy lot, Who was so blyth of late, To see such meat as can't be got, When hunger is so great! _O the Beef, the bonny bonny Beef! When roasted nice and brown, I wish I had a slice of thee, How sweet it would gang down._ Ah, _Charley!_ hadst thou not been seen, This ne'er had hapt to me: I would the De'el had pickt mine eyne Ere I had gang'd with thee. _O the Beef_, &c. RECITATIVE. But see! my Muse to _England_ takes her flight, Where _Health_ and _Plenty_ chearfully unite. Where smiling _Freedom_ guards great _George's_ throne, And chains, and racks, and tortures are not known; Whose _Fame_ superior bards have often wrote.-- An ancient fable give me leave to quote. AIR. _The Roast Beef of Old England._ As once on a time a young _Frog_, pert and vain, Beheld a large _Ox_ grazing on the wide plain, He boasted his size he could quickly attain. _Oh! the Roast Beef,_ &c. Then eagerly stretching his weak little frame, Mamma, who stood by, like a knowing old dame, Cried, "Son, to attempt it you're greatly to blame." _Oh! the Roast Beef,_ &c. But, deaf to advice, he for glory did thirst, An effort he ventured, more strong than the first, Till swelling and straining too hard, made him burst. _Oh! the Roast Beef,_ &c. Then, _Britons_, be valiant; the moral is clear: The _Ox_ is _Old England_, the _Frog_ is _Monsieur_, Whose puffs and bravadoes we need never fear. _Oh! the Roast Beef,_ &c. For while by our commerce and arts we are able To see the brave _Ox_ smoaking hot on our table, The _French_ must e'en croak, like the _Frog_ in the fable. _Oh! the Roast Beef,_ &c. Printed for _R. Sayer_, at the _Golden Buck_ in _Fleet-street_; and _J. Smith_, at _Hogarth's Head_ in _Cheapside_. At the end of a pamphlet which I shall have occasion to mention under the year 1755, was announced, as speedily to be published under the auspices of our artist, "A Poetical Description of Mr. _Hogarth's_ celebrated print, _The Roast Beef of Old England_, or the _French_ surprized at the Gate of _Calais_." [1] In _The General Advertiser, March_ 9, 1748-9, appeared the following: "This day is published, price 5_s._ A Print, designed and engraved by Mr. _Hogarth_, representing a PRODIGY which lately appeared before the Gate of _Calais_. "O the Roast Beef of _Old England!_ "To be had at the _Golden-Head_, in _Leicester-Square_, and at the Print Shops."