Others may do as they see good;
But if this twig be made of wood
That will hold tack, I'll make the fur,
Fly 'bout the ears of that old cur ;
And t'other mungrel vermin, Ralph,
That brav'd us all in his behalf.
Thy bear is safe, and out of peril,

275

280

Though lugg'd indeed, and wounded very ill :
Myself and Trulla made a shift

To help him out at a dead lift;

And having brought him bravely off,
Have left him where he's safe enough:
There let him rest; for if we stay,
The slaves may hap to get away.

This said, they all engaged to join
Their forces in the same design:

285

290

276. The twig with which Cerdon assails the ears of Hudibras, is referable to the same mark, in light, on the side of his head, which in line 297 of this canto is assimilated to a laurel-branch.

Triumphant laurels seem to grow
No where so green as on his brow:
Laden with which, as well as tir'd
With conqu❜ring toil, he now retir'd
Unto a neighb'ring castle by,

To rest his body, and apply

Fit med'cines to each glorious bruise
He
got in fight, reds, blacks, and blues,
To mollify th❜uneasy pang

Of ev'ry honourable bang,

Which be'ng by skilful midwife drest,
He laid him down to take his rest.

But all in vain. H'ad got a hurt

300

305

On th' inside, of a deadlier sort,

310

By Cupid made, who took his stand

Upon a widow's jointure-land,

(For he, in all his am'rous battles,

No 'dvantage finds like goods and chattels,)

Drew home his bow, and, aiming right,

315

Let fly an arrow at the knight;

The shaft against a rib did glance,

And gall'd him in the purtenance.

307. This mention of a midwife seems to allude to the appearance of a forceps on Hudibras's face, which, in speaking of Ralph in a former canto, was likened to the shears of a tailor, as drawn in fig. 11, ante.

315. Figure 22 exhibits Cupid as aiming at Hudibras with his bow, and situate (in light) in the map of the moon

But time had somewhat 'swag'd his pain,
After he found his suit in vain.

For that proud dame, for whom his soul
Was burnt in's belly like a coal,

320

so as to face the north, and with his feet towards Hudibras's stomach.

Fig. 22.

321. Figure 23 gives a view of the beauteous widow Fig. 23.

(That belly that so oft did ake, And suffer griping for her sake ;

with whom, or with whose riches rather, (and round spots of light like coins are scattered all over her person,) Hudibras is enamoured. If the south side of the moon be placed uppermost, her prototype may be seen there, on the right towards the bottom, looking up, as it were, in Hudibras's face, and so that her body makes a sort of a right angle with his (cross-grain'd, 353); which last circumstance, as to her relative position in respect to the figure of Hudibras himself, may serve to explain the nature of the ænigmatical caprice imputed to her by Hudibras in line 335, and that which is added on the same point at line 304, Part 2, Canto 1. Her person resembles a restive mule, mentioned in line 332, and drawn in figure 24, and a large rabbit, as mentioned in line 355.

Fig. 24.

ම
a

G 2

Till purging-comfits and ants' eggs
Had almost brought him off his legs,)
Us'd him so like a base rascallion,

That old Pyg-(what d'y'call him) malion,
That cut his mistress out of stone,

Had not so hard a hearted one.

She had a thousand jadish tricks,

Worse than a mule that flings and kicks;

325

330

'Mong which one cross-grain'd freak she had, As insolent as strange and mad:

She could love none but only such
As scorn'd and hated her as much.
'Twas a strange riddle of a lady,
Not love, if any lov'd her: hey day!
So cowards never use their might,

335

But against such as will not fight.

340

So some diseases have been found
Only to seize upon the sound.

He that gets her by heart, must say her

The back way, like a witch's prayer.

Mean while the knight had no small task, 345

To compass what he durst not ask :

He loves, but dares not make the motion;

Her ignorance is his devotion:

Like caitiff vile, that for misdeed
Rides with his face to rump of steed;
Or rowing scull, he's fain to love,
Look one way, and another move:

350