Paul Clifford — Volume 04Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
General
Paul Clifford — Volume 04
Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron
Brigands and robbers -- Fiction
The thunders of eloquence being hushed, flashes of lightning, or, as the
vulgar say, _glasses of gin_, gleamed about. Good old Mr. Bags stuck,
however, to his blue ruin, and Attie to the bottle of bingo; some, among
whom were Clifford and the wise Augustus, called for wine; and Clifford,
who exerted himself to the utmost in supporting the gay duties of his
station, took care that the song should vary the pleasures of the bowl.
Of the songs we have only been enabled to preserve two. The first is by
Long Ned; and though we confess we can see but little in it, yet (perhaps
from some familiar allusion or other with which we are necessarily
unacquainted) it produced a prodigious sensation. It ran thus:--
THE ROGUE'S RECIPE.
Your honest fool a rogue to make,
As great as can be seen, sir,
Two hackneyed rogues you first must take,
Then place your fool between, sir.
Virtue 's a dunghill cock, ashamed
Of self when paired with game ones;
And wildest elephants are tamed
If stuck betwixt two tame ones.
The other effusion with which we have the honour to favour our readers is
a very amusing duet which took place between Fighting Attie and a tall
thin robber, who was a dangerous fellow in a mob, and was therefore
called Mobbing Francis; it was commenced by the latter:--
MOBBING FRANCIS:
The best of all robbers as ever I knowed
Is the bold Fighting Attie, the pride of the road!--
Fighting Attie, my hero, I saw you to-day
A purse full of yellow boys seize;
And as, just at present, _I'm low in the lay,_
I'll borrow a quid, if you please.
Oh! bold Fighting Attie, the knowing, the natty,
By us all it must sure be confest,
Though your shoppers and snobbers are pretty good robbers,
A soldier is always the best.
FIGHTING ATTIE
Stubble your whids, (Hold your tongue)
You wants to trick I.
Lend you my quids?
Not one, by Dickey.
MOBBING FRANCIS:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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