be
kept whole on pain of being "scolded everlastingly."

A litany supposed to have been written by a nobleman against Tom Paine,
was in the following style.

THE POOR MAN'S LITANY.

"From four pounds of bread at sixteen-pence price,
And butter at eighteen, though not very nice,
And cheese at a shilling, though gnawed by the mice,
Good Lord deliver us!"

The "Chronicles of the Kings of England," by Nathan Ben Sadi were also
of this kind, parodies on Scripture were used at Elections on both
sides, and one on the Te Deum against Napoleon had been translated into
all the European languages. But a most remarkable trial took place in
the year 1817, that of William Hone for publishing profane parodies
against the Government. From this we might have hoped that a better
taste was at length growing up, but Hone maintained that the prosecution
was undertaken on political grounds, and that had the satires been in
favour of the Government nothing would have been said against them. He
also complained of the profanity of his accuser, the Attorney-General,
who was perpetually "taking the Lord's name in vain" during his speech.
Some parts of Hone's publications seem to have debased the Church
Services by connecting them with what was coarse and low, but the main
object was evidently to ridicule the Regent and his Ministers, and this
view led the jury to acquit him. Still there was no doubt that his
satire reflected in both ways. His Catechism of a Ministerial member
commenced--

_Question._ What is your name?

_Answer._ Lick-spittle.

_Ques._ Who gave you this name?

_Ans._ My Sureties to the Ministry in my political charge, wherein
I was made a member of the majority, the child of corruption, and a
locust to devour the good things of this kingdom.

The supplications in his Litany were of the following kind--

"O Prince! ruler of thy people, have mercy upon us thy miserable
subjects."

Some of Gillray's caricatures would not now be tolerated, such as that
representing Hoche ascending to Heaven surrounded by Seraphim and
Cherubim--grotesque figures with red nightcaps and tri-coloured cockades
having books before them containing the Marseillaise hymn. In another
Pitt was going to heaven in the form of Elijah, and letting his mantle
drop on the King's Ministers.

It must be admitted that there is often a great difficulty in deciding
whether the intention was to