The Press.
London, England, 1853-07-02 00:00:00

RICHARD AND JOSEPH.

SCENE :-H01.711E OF C031310N8. TIME : 7 P.M.

Awake, my JOSEPH ! chosen of Montrose ;
Unbar thy peepers, and becalm thy nose !
Lo! DUDLEY STUART employs his drawling art,
For time to give our Mersey friends a start.
* All things are green on this auspicious day ;
These benches green reflect the verdant May ;
Green are the Members that have lost their seats,
For bribing lawyers, and for hiring cheats ;
GREEN was the Chairman of our Ways and Means.
The Green Isle's Members love to dine on greens.
Green are the pillars that support this House ;
And green the mufli whom CLARENDON can chouse.
Thyself art green, and in a green old age.
Then wake, my JOSEPH ! Wake, my sleeping sage !

JOSEPH.

Thy voice, divine to me, oh, RICHARD dear !
Is as to dusty stokers BASS'S beer.
Sweet as to cabmen is a snooze at noon,
When suns are hottest in the swelering town.
Come then, my guide, my genius, come along ;
Friend of my soul, and burden of my song !
Of unadorn'd yet calculating mind,
Born to befoul at once and fleece mankind!
Begin thy stave; 10! jaded Members doze,
And nought is heard but JEMMY GRAHAM'S nose.
RICHARD.

The last great age of happiness has come ;
No more shall sound be heard of fife or drum;
Ships shall decay, and naval stores shall rot;
The cannon's mouth be dumb, for want of shot.
No more in arms the Cossack shall be seen;
(I learnt in private from a French marine);
All fears of war and mad ambition cease,
And even France's Louis prates of peace.
Peace is the sacred theme of holy cant ;
Fools fulminate on peace, and cowards rant.
Blest is the II verdure of a peaceful scat
Where Rion lies tugging at his Indian "teat"!
All things arc peace; e'en BERNAL OSBORNE How,
Once fond of arms, and foremost in a row,
Pleas'd to enjoy two thousand pounds a year,
Reposes sweetly in his easy-chair.
Such is this state of happy equipoise,
To "crumple Russia" would make too much noise;
And, as I gather from thy nodding brow,
The feat would clearly be superfluous now.
But, hark ! soft twinklings from a chamber near
Of silver hell invite to frugal cheer.
Then rise, my JOSEPH ! twitch thy mantle blue,
And haste to patties fresh and cutlets new.
'genie(' let us sit, and, rapt in joys divine,
Complacent drink and unconfuted dine.

(Exeunt.)
• The sage of the Corn Laws appears to have had the poet of Mantua in his me•
mory,—a proof of the vastresourres of his cultivated mind :

" Nunc froudent nune

annum."

+ The architect of the new House of Commons seems to have thought green its
most appropriate colour. Whether he preferred that colour as representing and refleet-
ing the character of the members, it would, of course, he improper to speculate.
The predominance of red in the House of Lords is equally remarkable. No par-
ticular reason can be assigned for the selection of this colour; unless, indeed, it was
intended to hide, by overpowering, Lord Aberdeen's blushes in his new character
and ottice.

The Philosopher of Montrose was evidently inspired by h;s Mend's quotation of
Virgil to give him as good as be brought:—
" Tide tnum nobis carmen, divine poeta,
guide sopor fessis in gramine, guide per tritium
Hulas aqua. resonante sitim restinguere rivo."
!I The reader is once more requested to remember the colour of the benches of the
House of Connuous.