This occasioned the following not unhumorous
sarcasm, which has been often printed among the popular sonnets of
those times.
The plot referred to in ver. 3 was that entered into by Mr Waller
the poet, and others, with a view to reduce the city and Tower to
the service of the King; for which two of them, Nath. Tomkins and
Richard Chaloner, suffered death, July 5, 1643. Vid. Ath. Ox. 11.
24. - PERCY'S RELIQUES OF ANCIENT ENGLISH POETRY.
Undone! undone! the lawyers are,
They wander about the towne,
Nor can find the way to Westminster
Now Charing-Cross is downe:
At the end of the Strand they make a stand,
Swearing they are at a loss,
And chaffing say, that's not the way,
They must go by Charing-Cross.
The Parliament to vote it down
Conceived it very fitting,
For fear it should fall, and kill them all
In the House as they were sitting.
They were told god-wot, it had a plot,
Which made them so hard-hearted,
To give command it should not stand,
But be taken down and carted.
Men talk of plots, this might have been worse,
For anything I know,
Than that TOMKINS and CHALONER
Were hang'd for long agoe.
Our Parliament did that prevent,
And wisely them defended,
For plots they will discover still
Before they were intended.
But neither man, woman, nor child
Will say, I'm confident,
They ever heard it speak one word
Against the Parliament.
An informer swore it letters bore,
Or else it had been freed;
In troth I'll take my Bible oath
It could neither write nor read.
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