Punch (99.1890)

270 PUNCH, OR THE LONDON CHARIVARI. [December 6, 1890.

SCENES OF CLERICAL LIFe.-A DIOCESAN CONFERENCE.

"Look 'bee, Bill I Blest if these bean't a Lot o' Parsons on Strike I"

" SEPARATISTS."

(Fragments of a Modern " Marmion,")

" But Douglas round him drew his cloak,
Folded hiB arms, and thus he spoke:—
*****

' The hand of Douglas is his own,
And never shall in friendly grasp
The hand of such as Makmion clasp.' "
*****

" The hand of such as Maemion ! " Ay!
Great Singer of the knightly lay,

Thy tale of Flodden field
Is darkened by unknightly stain.
That slackened arm and bnrdened brain
Of him found low among the slain,

Constrained at last to yield
To a mere "base marauder's lanoe ; "
He, firm of front and cold of glance,
The dark, the dauntless Maemion.—
The days of chivalry are gone,
Dispraisers of the present say,
Yet men arm still for party fray

As fierce as foray old ;
And mail is donned, and steel is drawn,
And champions challenging at dawn

Ere night lie still and cold.
Two champions here 'midst loud applause,
Have led the lists in a joint cause

On many a tourney morn,
Have fought to vanward in the field
Full many an hour, and, sternly steeled,

One banner forward borne.
And now—ah, well, as Dooglas old
On Maemion looked sternly cold,

So looks this Chieftain grey
On his old comrade, though the fight
Is forward now, and many a knight

Is arming for the fray.

As " the demeanour changed and cold
Of Douglas fretted Maemion bold,"
Has this old grey haired Chieftain's chill
Fretted that man of icy will ?

Who knows—or cares to know ?
At least he " has to learn ere long
That constant mind, and hate of wrong "
Than steely pride are yet more strong ;

That shame can strike a blow
At comradeship more fatal far
Than any chance of fateful war
When faction howled with Cerberus throat,
When falsehood struck a felon stroke,

When forgery did its worst
To pull its hated quarry down,
To dim, disarm, degrade, discrown.

Against the array accurst
That ancient chief made gallant head,
Dismayed not, nor disquieted

At rancour's rude assault.
He shared opprobrium undeserved,
But not for that had courage swerved,

Or loyalty made default.
But now ? The hand that reared hath razed;
And as old Angus stood amazed

At Wilton's shameful tale,
So fealty here must bend the brow,
And faith, though sorely tried, till now

Surviving, faint and fail; _
As Douglas round him drew his cloak,
So, saddened by unknightly stroke,

The ancient chief must draw;
Nor in mere pharisaic soorn,
But in the name of faith foresworn

And honour's broken law.

Tis pity of him, too! " 'Twas so,
The half-relenting Angus, low

Bold can he speak, and fairly ride:
I warrant him a warrior tried."

A foeman to be feared,
A leader to be trusted, seemed
This dark, cold chief, and few had dreamed

Of such strange severance.
And any not ignoble eye
In sorrow more than mockery

Aside will gladly glance.
'Tis pity of it! Eight or wrong,
The Cause needs champions true as strong,

And blameless as they 're bold.
"A sinful heart makes feeble hand,"
Cried Maemion, his " failing brand "

Cursing with lips grown cold.
Let vulgar venom triumph here,
And hate, itself from shame not clear,

Make haste to hurl the stone;
A nobler foe will stand aside,
And more in sorrow than in pride,
Xot hot to harry or deride,
Like Douglas in his halls abide,

But keep his hand—his own I

Feom a Theatbical Cobbespondent.—Sir,
—I know a lot about London and N. B., but
never till now did I know of the existence of
'Abet in Scotland. The character is now
represented, as I am informed, on the stage,
by Mr. Beebbohm Teee, who, in a play called
Back, impersonates the Mac Abet. Odd,
this! for the McCocknie. P.S.—One lives
and learns. [«% If McCooknie is to learn
much, he will have to become a McMethu-
8elah. The piece to which he alludes is
Called Back, by Hugh Conway and Comtns
Caeb, and the part in it, excellently played

Spake in his snowy beard. I by Mr. Teee, is Macari, an Italian.]