Thank you for visiting SNEWPapers!
Sign up free
Poem
September 4, 1793
National Gazette
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania
What is this article about?
Satirical poem depicting Orlando fleeing a plague-stricken town on horseback, protected by camphor and tar, preferring life to a bleak afterlife as described in Lucian, where no joys exist and even monarchs are ragged.
Clipping
OCR Quality
98%
Excellent
Full Text
ORLANDO's FLIGHT.
ON prancing steed, with sponge at nose,
From town behold Orlando fly;
Camphor and Tar where'er he goes
Th' infected shafts of death defy—
Safe in an atmosphere of stink,
No doctor gets Orlando's chink.
'Twas right to fly! for well I ween
In Stygian worlds, by Jove's decree,
No blushing blossom e'er was seen,
Or running brook, or budding tree:
No splendid meats, no flowing bowls
Smile o'er the meagre feast of souls.
No prightly songs, to banish grief,
No balls, the Stygian Beaus prepare,
And he that fed on rounds of beef,
On onion shells shall fatten there—
Monarchs are there of little note,
And Caesar wears a ragged coat.
Chloes on earth, of air and shape,
Whose eyes destroy'd poor love-lorn wights,
There lower their top-sails to the cap,
Rig in their booms and furl their kites :—
Where Cupid's bow was never bent,
What lover asks a maid's consent?
All this, and more, Orlando knew,
(In Lucian is the story told)
Took horse—clapp'd spurs—and off he flew
In no d——d doctor's list enroll'd—
Blame not Orlando if he fled,—
So little's got by being dead.
ON prancing steed, with sponge at nose,
From town behold Orlando fly;
Camphor and Tar where'er he goes
Th' infected shafts of death defy—
Safe in an atmosphere of stink,
No doctor gets Orlando's chink.
'Twas right to fly! for well I ween
In Stygian worlds, by Jove's decree,
No blushing blossom e'er was seen,
Or running brook, or budding tree:
No splendid meats, no flowing bowls
Smile o'er the meagre feast of souls.
No prightly songs, to banish grief,
No balls, the Stygian Beaus prepare,
And he that fed on rounds of beef,
On onion shells shall fatten there—
Monarchs are there of little note,
And Caesar wears a ragged coat.
Chloes on earth, of air and shape,
Whose eyes destroy'd poor love-lorn wights,
There lower their top-sails to the cap,
Rig in their booms and furl their kites :—
Where Cupid's bow was never bent,
What lover asks a maid's consent?
All this, and more, Orlando knew,
(In Lucian is the story told)
Took horse—clapp'd spurs—and off he flew
In no d——d doctor's list enroll'd—
Blame not Orlando if he fled,—
So little's got by being dead.
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
Ballad
What themes does it cover?
Satire Society
Death Mourning
What keywords are associated?
Orlando Flight
Satire Death
Afterlife Stygian
Lucian Story
Fear Infection
Poem Details
Title
Orlando's Flight.
Form / Style
Rhymed Couplets
Key Lines
On Prancing Steed, With Sponge At Nose,
From Town Behold Orlando Fly;
'Twas Right To Fly! For Well I Ween
In Stygian Worlds, By Jove's Decree,
All This, And More, Orlando Knew,
(In Lucian Is The Story Told)
Blame Not Orlando If He Fled,—
So Little's Got By Being Dead.