Cum esset proposita fuga _Turpi_(n)_s_.--CICERO.

"One foot in the stirrup, one hand in the rein,
And the noose be my portion, or freedom I'll gain!
Oh! give me a seat in my saddle once more,
And these bloodhounds shall find that the chase is not o'er!"
Thus muttered Dick Turpin, who found, while he slept,
That the Philistines old on his slumbers had crept;
Had entrapped him as puss on her form you'd ensnare,
And that gone were his snappers--and gone was his mare.
_Hilloah!_

How Dick had been captured is readily told,
The pursuit had been hot, though the night had been cold,
So at daybreak, exhausted, he sought brief repose
Mid the thick of a corn-field, away from his foes.
But in vain was his caution--in vain did his steed,
Ever watchful and wakeful in moments of need,
With lip and with hoof on her master's cheek press--
He slept on, nor heeded the warning of Bess.
_Hilloah!_

"Zounds! gem'men!" cried Turpin, "you've found me at fault,
And the highflying highwayman's come to a halt;
You have turned up a trump--for I weigh well my weight,--
And the _forty is yours_, though the halter's _my_ fate.
Well, come on't what will, you shall own when all's past,
That Dick Turpin, the Dauntless, was game to the last.
But, before we go further, I'll hold you a bet,
That one foot in my stirrup you won't let me set.
_Hilloah!_

"A hundred to one is the odds _I_ will stand,
A hundred to one is the odds _you_ command;
Here's a handful of goldfinches ready to fly!
May I venture a foot in my stirrup to try?"
As he carelessly spoke, Dick directed a glance
At his courser, and motioned her slyly askance:--
You might tell by the singular toss of her head,
And the prick of her ears, that his meaning she read.
_Hilloah!_

With derision at first was Dick's wager received,
And his error at starting as yet unretrieved;
But when from his pocket the shiners he drew,
And offered to "make up the hundred to two,"
There were havers in plenty, and each whispered each,
The same thing, though varied in figure of speech,
"Let the fool act his folly--the stirrup of Bess!
H