Of the forest's whispering fleeces, No, the bugle sounds no more, Past the heath and up the hill; On the fairest time of June Gone, the merry morris din; Gone, the song of Gamelyn; Gone, the tough-belted outlaw Idling in the "grenè shawe"; All are gone away and past! And if Robin should be cast Sudden from his turfed grave, And if Marian should have Once again her forest days, She would weep, and he would craze: Have rotted on the briny seas; So it is yet let us sing, Honor to the old bowstring! Honor to the bugle horn! And to all the Sherwood clan! Though their days have hurried by, SIR THOMAS UPMORE. BY RICHARD DODDRIDGE BLACKMORE. (From "The Remarkable History of Sir Thomas Upmore, Bart., M.P.") [RICHARD DODdridge BlackmORE: This well-known English novelist was born at Longworth, Berkshire, June 9, 1825. He received his education at Tiverton and Exeter College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1847. At first a conveyancer, he has mainly devoted himself to literature. His reputation is founded principally upon "Lorna Doone: a Romance of Exmoor” (1869), one of the most interesting historical novels of the century. He has also written : "Craddock Nowell," "The Maid of Sker," Cripps the Carrier," 66 Mary Anerley,' ," "Sir Thomas Upmore," "Springhaven," "Kit and Kitty," "Perlycross,' Dariel," "Slain by the Doones, and Other Stories." Among his poetical works are: a translation of Virgil's "Georgics," "Fate of Franklin," and "Fringilla."] SPARS. 66 THE government had intended wisely to deal the first of their seven great blows at the weal of their hostile country with the bill (which they were sure to pass) for swamping the votes of the enemy. With this once done to suit their book, any dissolution of Parliament must redound to their sole benefit. But this pretty plot was not played out according to arrangement, for the Irish members stopped it. These, although they had their own bear garden now in College Green, found treason there too orthodox to afford any pure enjoyment, and made a point of coming over to keep their pepper boxes hot, which, according to the Kill-England Compact, were to be at their service forever. And still sticking together-like bots in a horse, though without any humor apparent they made everything go, or not go, according to their own appetite. Their appetite now was all wide-mouth for the third part of our fleet protocoled to them, and with national ardor and stupidity they roared for the passing of that bill at once, and the government of course gave way to them. Stupidity, I say, because if they had waited for the Dustpan Bill they would have had our fleet entire. arm. "Gentlemen, I begin to have some little hope now," Sir Roland said to us, as soon as we had finished an excellent dinner as his guests at the Cockles Club - for so everybody calls the "Horatius Cocles" at Westminster Bridge. There were twenty of us there, all M.P.'s, and not one would have feared to take a header off the bridge, having Mr. Panclast under his "To-morrow the fight begins, and the enemy (through his own currish nature) affords us one more chance. If he had taken up the dustpan first, with the regiment behind him that sucks his buttons, he must have swept everything before him. But in dread of O'Woundy and Digger, he takes up the craze every Briton cries shame at before he has thoroughly gagged them. I need not remind you that public opinion, as it used to be called, is against this bill more than all the others put together. But public opinion is a dead letter now, since the Press tried to pass their own for it. And even if it had the Press to back it, the Hecatons would light their pipes with it. To me it appears that our last chance lies in the ghost, long expatriated, of patriotism, if only it might for one halfhour revisit the glimpses of this English moon. But what says our excellent and powerful ally, the newly-elected of Silverside?" Bill, though he had only got his seat three days, had already made two speeches, and being always full of argument he was glad to make another. But as he made another, containing the very same observations, in the House next day, I need not report what he said just now. Not that I would blame any man for saying the same things twice, or twenty times. No man can put a new head to his hammer every time he thumps a block of coal, and we Britons used to be a fine block of Wallsend, hard to splinter and impossible to crack without fifty good thumps in the hole of each other. The government knew this, and made their fire of the rubble. Our case, though the best that could possibly be found, seemed likely to be a bad one. Mr. Thong, who knew exactly how every vote would go, reported that the best we could hope for was a minority of fifty. Every Irishman, of course, would vote for the glory of Ireland and the disgrace of Great Britain, except some half dozen who had been in our army or navy, and still had some regard for the old flag; so that our hearts were very gloomy when the great debate began. The government introduced their bill with the old claptraps about "universal peace, good will everywhere, fraternity of nations, symmetry, harmony, beneficence of commerce, expansion of the intellect, and so on. To all these noble things now there remained one wretched little obstacle, which it was our duty and our privilege to remove at once, the leprous stain of blood-guiltiness and greed"-in the mill of their eloquence they ground up metaphors-"and that obstacle was the ambition of England. If once we proffered to the world at large this magnificent pledge of our candor, confidence, and chivalrous resolve not to raise our hands against those who might indeed appear desirous to trample on our bodies, but would abstain when they found them so defenseless, then, and not till then, should we be able to claim the proud title of promoters of the glorious cause of humanity." There was a great deal more even finer than this, but is it not written in the chronicles of Hansard? The Liberal benches were rent with explosions of applause, like an ancient fig tree, while on our side, presently, an honorable member gained earnest attention by imitating to a nicety the clucking of a hen that calls her chicks together. Being new to the manners of the House, and zealous upon all points of order, up I jumped, and began to run about, trying to catch with my hat the Dame Partlet so intrusive in high places. Roars of laughter were my reward, the greatest of great guns joining in; and even the omnipotent premier gave me a smile of extraordinary sweetness. I had earned the good will of the House forever, and until I am gray I shall be called "Green Tommy." Now, this may seem a very small and childish affair at a time most truly momentous, and some will accuse me of my accustomed triviality in recounting it. But without fear of contradiction from any then present and able to form opinion, whether Liberal or Conservative, I say that the cluck of an as imaginary hen changed the fortunes of Great Britain for at least ten years, though her foes will prevail in the end, no doubt. That is to say, unless there is from time to time there ought to be, according to analogy - an outbreak of savage fury, havoc, mad bestiality, and wallowing murder in that center, heart, soul, brain, queen, star, crown, sun, and Deity of the universe which Mr. Windsor calls "Parree." Insanity there makes London sane; as a man I know well, who cut down his best friend · too late, alas! for any but the Coroner been afraid ever since to go near a belfry. - has But the turn, by which that cluck saved our Capitol, had nothing to do with either vigilance or terror, but simply led up to a condition of good humor. Good humor, which is sure to come after a laugh, and a boyish laugh, especially, brings back to the mind of a man, for a moment, that he is not the only man in the world. He may not be able to believe it very long, and is quite certain not to remember it; still, even to fancy that there are some others improves his behavior a good bit. The government saw that the vein of the moment was not at all in their favor; and two of the cabinet went to crave leave of the Irish members to put off the division. Sir Roland told me that he hoped they would get it; while I, knowing nothing of tactics, hoped that the matter might be settled out of hand, while the members appeared so light-hearted. For surely no Briton, unless in "the blues" which all Rads, from disease of the conscience, suffer-would vote for abandoning every stick and stone that our fathers gave their poor brave lives for. But Roly was right, and I was wrong; as appeared most plainly afterwards. The Irish captain, desiring, for a reason of his own, to oblige the prime minister, gave orders that the debate might be adjourned, if the government particularly wished it. This, as you will see, proved a good chance for us. But, to take things in their proper order, refreshing my memory by the notes of the member for Silverside, who had learned shorthand, I find pretty nearly as follows: When the bill was entirely before the House in all its perfect symmetry, according to their language; in all its naked enormity, according to ours — the leader of the opposition rose, and in the most courteous and placid manner (which alone might have proved, by its difference from theirs, on which side sense and justice lay) moved, not the entire rejection of the bill |