_"One day, nigh weary of the irksome way From her unhasty beast she did alight; And on the grass her dainty limbs did lay, In secret shadow, far from all men's sight, From her fair head her fillet she undight, And laid her stole aside, her angel's face, As the great Eye of Heaven, shone bright And made a sunshine in the shady place-- Did never mortal eye behold such grace! It fortuned, out of the thickest wood A ramping Lion rushed suddenly, Hunting full greedy after savage blood; Soon as the Royal Virgin he did spy, With gaping month at her ran greedily, To have at once devoured her tender corse; But to the prey when as he drew more nigh-- His bloody rage assuaged with remorse, And with the sight amazed, forgot his furious force!"_ Spenser resumed his seat, while a whirl of echoing applause waved from floor to rafter. Then Sir Walter remarked: "We are honored to-night by the presence of the counsel extraordinary of Queen Elizabeth, the orator and philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon, who will, I trust, give us a sentiment in honor of Her Majesty, the patron of art, literature and liberty!" Bacon, handsome, proud, but obsequious, then arose and addressed the jolly banqueters as follows: "Gentlemen: The toast of the evening to her gracious Majesty, Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen, meets my soul-lit approval, and had I the wings of fancy, instead of the plodding pedals of practical administration, I should raise her virtuous statue to the skies until its pinnacle shone above the uplands of omnipotence! "Philosophy teaches us that vice and virtue are at eternal war, and that whether married or single, the happiest state of man or woman is personal independence! _"Domestic cares afflict the husband's bed, Or pain his head; Those that live single, take it for a curse, Or do things worse; Some would have children, those that have them mourn, Or wish they were gone; What is it then, to have or have no wife, But single thraldom, or a double strife!_ "My friends: The ocean is the solitary handmaid of eternity. Cold and salt cure alike! "Men are like ants, crawling up and down. "Some carry corn, some carry their young, and all go to and fro--at last a little heap of dust!" The states' attorney took his seat, with frantic applause rattling in his ears. Although the sentiments of Bacon were variable, mixed, foreign and epigrammatic, they received great attention; for no matter who may be the speaker at a banquet where royalty and power are the subjects at issue, there will be great and tremendous cheering by little sycophants who expect reward, and of course, by those patriots who have already received favors from the administration pie counter.