of the Saracens, who subdued Palestine,
and brought it under the caliphate.

8. The butcher that killed the ox denotes the crusaders,
by whom the Holy Land was wrested out of the hands of the
Saracens.

9. The angel of death signifies the Turkish power, by which
the land of Palestine was taken from the Franks, and to which
it is still subject.

10. The commencement of the tenth stanza is designed to show
that God will take signal vengeance on the Turks, immediately
after whose overthrow the Jews are to be restored to their
own land, and live under the government of their long-expected
Messiah.

DXCVI.

"An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a little crooked
sixpence. 'What,' said she, 'shall I do with this little sixpence? I
will go to market, and buy a little pig.' As she was coming home, she
came to a stile: the piggy would not go over the stile.

"She went a little further, and she met a dog. So she said to the dog,
'Dog! bite pig; piggy won't go over the stile; and I shan't get home
to-night.' But the dog would not.

"She went a little further, and she met a stick. So she said, 'Stick!
stick! beat dog; dog won't bite pig; piggy won't get over the stile;
and I shan't get home to-night.' But the stick would not.

"She went a little further, and she met a fire. So she said, 'Fire!
fire! burn stick; stick won't beat dog; dog won't bite pig,' (_and so
forth, always repeating the foregoing words_.) But the fire would not.

"She went a little further, and she met some water. So she said,
'Water! water! quench fire; fire won't burn stick,' &c. But the water
would not.

"She went a little further, and she met an ox. So she said, 'Ox! ox!
drink water; water won't quench fire' &c. But the ox would not.

"She went a little further, and she met a butcher. So she said,
'Butcher! butcher! kill ox; ox won't drink water,' &c. But the butcher
would not.

"She went a little further, and she met a rope. So she said, 'Rope!
rope! hang butcher; butcher won't kill ox,' &c. But the rope would
not.

"She went a little further, and she met a rat. So she said, 'Rat! rat!
gnaw rope; rope won't hang butcher,' &c. But the rat would not.

"She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said, 'Cat! cat!
kill rat; rat won't gnaw rope,' &c. But the cat said to her, 'If you
will go to yonder cow, and fetch me a saucer of milk, I will kill the
rat.' So away went