ges mentioned in it, to be allegorical, which the author would
never own. Notwithstanding, to indulge the reader's fancy and curiosity,
I have printed at the bottom of the page the supposed allusions of the
most obscure parts of the story.

THE HISTORY OF JOHN BULL.

CHAPTER I. The Occasion of the Law Suit.

I need not tell you of the great quarrels that have happened in our
neighbourhood since the death of the late Lord Strutt;* how the parson**
and a cunning attorney got him to settle his estate upon his cousin
Philip Baboon, to the great disappointment of his cousin Esquire South.
Some stick not to say that the parson and the attorney forged a will;
for which they were well paid by the family of the Baboons. Let that
be as it will, it is matter of fact that the honour and estate have
continued ever since in the person of Philip Baboon.

* Late King of Spain.

** Cardinal Portocarero.

You know that the Lord Strutts have for many years been possessed of a
very great landed estate, well conditioned, wooded, watered, with coal,
salt, tin, copper, iron, etc., all within themselves; that it has been
the misfortune of that family to be the property of their stewards,
tradesmen, and inferior servants, which has brought great incumbrances
upon them; at the same time, their not abating of their expensive way
of living has forced them to mortgage their best manors. It is credibly
reported that the butcher's and baker's bill of a Lord Strutt that lived
two hundred years ago are not yet paid.

When Philip Baboon came first to the possession of the Lord Strutt's
estate, his tradesmen,* as is usual upon such occasions, waited upon him
to wish him joy and bespeak his custom. The two chief were John Bull,**
the clothier, and Nic. Frog,*** the linendraper. They told him that the
Bulls and Frogs had served the Lord Strutts with draperyware for many
years; that they were honest and fair dealers; that their bills had
never been questioned; that the Lord Strutts lived generously, and
never used to dirty their fingers with pen, ink, and counters; that
his lordship might depend upon their honesty that they would use him as
kindly as they had done his predecessors. The young lord seemed to take
all in good part, and dismissed them with a deal of seeming content,
assuring them he did not intend to change any of the honourable maxims
of his predecessors.

* The first letters of congratulation from King Will