FAVOURITE FABLES. 67

On matters that concerned the state

The council met in grand debate.

A Colt, whose eye-balls flamed with ire,
Elate with strength and youthful fire,

In haste stepped forth before the rest,

And thus the listening throng addressed :—

‘Good gods! how abject is our race!
Condemned to slavery and disgrace !
Shall we our servitude retain,
Because our sires have borne the chain?
Consider, friends, your strength and might;
’Tis conquest to assert your right.
How cumberous is the gilded coach!
The pride of man is our reproach.
Were we designed for daily toil,
To drag the ploughshare through the soil;
To sweat in harness through the road;
To groan beneath the carrier’s load ?
How feeble are the two-legged kind!
What force is in our nerves combined !
Shall, then, our nobler jaws submit
To foam and champ the galling bit?
Shall haughty men my back bestride ?
Shall the sharp spur provoke my side?