VII. PRINCE THE PIPER.

A little, friv'lous, abject mind, Pleased with the rabble, puff'd with wind, When once, as fast as pride presumes, Itself with vanity it plumes, Is by fond lightness brought with ease To any ridicule you please. One Prince, a piper to the play, Was rather noted in his way, As call'd upon to show his art, Whene'er Bathyllus did his part. He being at a certain fair, (I do not well remember where,) While they pull'd down the booth in haste, Not taking heed, his leg displaced, He from the scaffold fell so hard— (Would he his pipes had rather marr'd! Though they, poor fellow! were to him As dear almost as life and limb). Borne by the kind officious crowd, Home he's conducted, groaning loud. Some months elapsed before he found Himself recover'd of his wound: Meantime, according to their way, The droll frequenters of the play Had a great miss of him, whose touch The dancers' spirits raised so much. A certain man of high renown Was just preparing for the town Some games the mob to entertain, When Prince began to walk again; Whom, what with bribes and pray'rs, his grace Prevail'd upon to show his face In this performance, by all means— And while he waits behind the scenes, A rumour through the house is spread, By certain, that "the piper's dead." Others cried out, "The man is here, And will immediately appear." The curtain draws, the lightnings flash, The gods speak out their usual trash. An ode, not to the Piper known, Was to the chorus leader shown, Which he was order'd to repeat, And which was closed with this conceit— "Receive with joy, O loyal Rome, Thy Prince just rescued from his tomb." They all at once stand up and clap, At which my most facetious chap Kisses his hand, and scrapes and bows To his good patrons in the house. First the equestrian order smoke The fool's mistake, and high in joke, Command the song to be encored; Which ended, flat upon the board The Piper falls, the knights acclaim; The people think that Prince's aim Is for a crown of bays at least. Now all the seats perceived the jest, And with his bandage white as snow, White frock, white pumps, a perfect beauty Proud of the feats he had achieved, And these high honours he received, With one unanimous huzza, Poor Prince was kick'd out of the play.

VIII. OPPORTUNITY.

Bald, naked, of a human shape, With fleet wings ready to escape, Upon a razor's edge his toes, And lock that on his forehead grows— Him hold, when seized, for goodness' sake, For Jove himself cannot retake The fugitive when once he's gone. The picture that we here have drawn Is Opportunity so brief.— The ancients, in a bas-relief, Thus made an effigy of Time, That every one might use their prime; Nor e'er impede, by dull delay, Th' effectual business of to-day.

IX. THE BULL AND THE CALF.

A Bull was struggling to secure His passage at a narrow door, And scarce could reach the rack of hay, His horns so much were in his way. A Calf officious, fain would show How he might twist himself and go. "Hold thou thy prate; all this," says he, "Ere thou wert calved was known to me." He, that a wiser man by half Would teach, may think himself this Calf.

X. THE OLD DOG AND THE HUNTSMAN.

A Dog, that time and often tried, His master always satisfied; And whensoever he assail'd, Against the forest-beasts prevail'd Both by activity and strength, Through years began to flag at length. One day, when hounded at a boar, His ear he seized, as heretofore; But with his teeth, decay'd and old, Could not succeed to keep his hold. At which the huntsman, much concern'd, The vet'ran huff'd, who thus return'd: "My resolution and my aim, Though not my strength, are still the same; For what I am if I am chid, Praise what I was, and what I did." Philetus, you the drift perceive Of this, with which I take my leave.

THE END.

LONDON: PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Errata (noted by transcriber)

Inconsistencies in fable numbering are described at the beginning of the Table of Contents. All footnotes (Fn.), Aesopian Fables (AF) and New Fables (NF) are in Riley only.

"Invisible" means that there is an appropriately sized blank space in the text, but the letter itself is absent.

Fn. I.26 The "lagena," or "lagona," was a long-necked bottle [standard spelling is "lagoena"] Fn. II.6 she is called "anus," "an Old Woman," [The Latin language had two unrelated words spelled "anus". The one referenced here is "anu:s" with long final U.] Fn. V.7 the word "tibia," which signifies the main bone of the leg [Not an error: until recently, English "leg" often had the narrower meaning of "lower leg".]

Errors and inconsistencies:

RILEY

Fn. III.2 The "feriae imperativae" were appointed to be held [ferae] Fn. III.22 to cut short any disagreable question [spelling unchanged] III.XIX If the inquisitive fellow reflected [inquistive] Fn. IV.27 riches were more commonly buried in the earth [duried] V.V excites their applause, and awakens [awaken] NF IX as {well he might} ["as // as" at page break, italicized as shown] NF XXIX when can no longer escape the dogs [text unchanged: probable missing word "when he can..." missing space "longerescape"] NF Fn. 22: This pun upon the resemblance [resesemblance] AF VI while meditating the destruction others. [text unchanged: probable missing word "destruction of others"] AF XV The King, as soon as he aware of this [text unchanged: missing verb in "he ... aware"] AF XXVI the attack of the Hawk when he comes [cames] AF XXVIII dragging forth from her hole [her her]

SMART

I.XXVI In a tall flagon, finely minced, [Ina tall] II.Prol. I shall abide by Esop's plan: [my] II.Epil. Him setting on th' eternal base, [th' the eternal] — That they might teach to all mankind [makind] III.Prol. From worldly cares you must estrange [wordly] — With Aesop for my master still; — Inventing more than Aesop knew; [_anomalous spelling unchanged in both] — To my own hindrence did I try. [_spelling unchanged_] III.VII Warn'd by our council, oft beware [_text unchanged: error for "counsel"?_] IV.I FABLE I. THE WEAZEL AND MICE. [_spelling unchanged_] IV.XIX And men of real worth in grain. [_text unchanged: probable missing word "in the grain"_] IV.Epi. This moral scheme as well as I [morals cheme]

Missing or incorrect footnote tags:

III.Prol. TO EUTYCHUS.[1] — Anacharsis of Scythia[10] could IV.VI (whose History is painted in {our} taverns[12]) [printed "1" for "2"] V.I Demetrius,[2] who was called Phalereus [printed "1" for "2"] New Fables: BY SOME ATTRIBUTED TO PHAEDRUS.[1] NF.XXI If at any time[17] sustenance is wanting

Incorrect punctuation or capitalization:

RILEY

I.I "Indeed," answered the Lamb, [' for "] Fn. I.12 This new cause of astonishment)—Ver. 8. Never [anomalous — after line number] I.XXV he drank and ran away." [, for .] Fn. III.13 Falernian Lees [body text has lower-case "lees"] Fn. III.14 O, delicious fragrance [body text has no comma after "O"] Fn. IV.4 to defray the expenses of the worship. [, for .] — B. iv., l. 350, vol. i., p. 149 [vol. .i,] IV.XVII not able to keep their stomachs in order. [order..] IV.XIX who rob the Gods of their incense, yourself of food [printed "your-/yourself" at line break] Fn. V.13 signifying to make the best of an opportunity. [superfluous " at end] Fn. V.15 Philetus.) [anomalous .] Fn. NF.4 the word "menda," a blemish. [superfluous " at end: blemish."] Fn. NF.23 by the name of psuche: [Greek incorrectly accented]

SMART

I.VIII And now, forsooth, you'd bring your bill!" [' for "] III.V Pray get on faster with the cart [superfluous " at beginning (top of page)] IV.XX How much they can with heav'n prevail. [, for .] V.Prol. And likewise colouring of the piece?— [superfluous close quote: piece?"—]

Mechanical Errors:

RILEY

I.XIV {in consideration of} a stated reward. [d. invisible] I.XV feeding an Ass in a meadow [i of "in" invisible] II.Epil. a book of jests partly from the works of Aesop. [f of "of" invisible] AF.XXVIII dance in the winter [d invisible]

SMART

I.XX But proves destructive in the end [B invisible] III.VII "My dears," he says, "ye may not pass [line-final s missing or invisible] III.VIII "I wish," says he, "with all my soul [line-final l missing or invisible] III.XIX Cybele's priests, in quest of bread, [s of "quest" invisible]

Missing or invisible punctuation:

Unless otherwise noted, the quotation mark " or " is missing.

RILEY

I.II continue to endure your bad fortune.'" [inner ' missing] I.III to feel {the additional pang} of this repulse." I.X have stolen what you so speciously deny." I.XI I should have fled in alarm like {the rest}." Fn I.12 heard the voice of an ass in the forests before. [final . missing] I.XXIII that you may not profit by my neglect." I.XXVII have suddenly coveted regal wealth." I.XXIX to be defiled with {such} dastardly blood." I.XXX "and they are of a different kind II.V manumission stands at a much higher price with me." Fn II.5 Vera, inquit——" Fn II.12 Whatever violence and unscrupulousness attack, comes. [final . missing] Fn III.15 manumitted, as generally supposed, by Augustus [second , missing] III.VII "how is it that you are so sleek? IV.XVIII "That people may learn not to assist the wicked."[26] IV.XXIV my kinsmen, in the number of whom I reckon you." Fn V.12 which was worshipped with Divine honors. [final . missing] V.X you blame me that I am not {what I was}." NF XXIV dropped the prey from her mouth unenjoyed. [final . missing] NF XXV you would have suffered for it." NF XXVII never done any injury to this field." NF XXIII and your harmless life." NF XXX by fixing your sting in him." AF XIII how much more beauteous you would be."

SMART

In titles, the final . is missing or invisible.

I.XI "How did my music-piece go off?" [close quote missing] I.XVI THE SHEEP, THE STAG, AND THE WOLF. I.XXI "But to be trampled on by thee I.XXX THE KITE AND THE DOVES. III.XII THE BEES AND THE DRONES. III.XVII But when I speak the audience sneers." IV.IV Enough to understand his will!" IV.VI The daughters their own sire to slay." IV.VIII Be quick, my friend, your sorrows drown." IV.X THE SACRILEGIOUS THIEF. IV.XX THE ESCAPE OF SIMONIDES.

THE END