ortunes to tell;
_Mother Shipton_[11] shall chap'rone the lovely _Black I_,[12]
And those awkward Greek girls, _Lambda_,[13] _Gamma_,[14]
and _Chi_;[15]
_Hebrew Character_,[16] too, who for routs has a passion;
And I'll ask Mrs. _Gothic_,[17] though she's out of fashion,
For I love my old friends, and had rather that they
Should partake of our feast, than the idle and gay,
Who flutter about without object or reason,
Just live for an hour, and last but a season."
How little, alas! do great moths bear in mind,
That their tenure of life is of just the same kind.
"You're right," said the Empress, "and truly 'twere shabby,
T'exclude from our party poor old Mrs. _Tabby_,[18]
And the _Rustics_[19] I'll ask, though not one has a gown
In which to appear, save of black, grey, or brown;
And some of them go, too, so feathered and flounced,
That the _Coxcomb_[20] called _Prominent_, on them pronounced
A sentence of censure, quite just, but so tart,
That I felt, when I heard it, quite cut to the heart.
But now to proceed, Sire, the _Leopard_[21] I vote,
Be razed from our list, with that ugly old _Goat_,[22]
Who in youth made such terrible use of his jaws,
That I dread, I confess, e'en the sight of his claws;
And as to his muscles, 'tis said that when counted,
To four thousand and just forty-one they amounted;
Of Musk too, I'm told, he sheds such perfume,
That wherever he goes, he fills the whole room.
Exclude him we will, with the old _Dromedary_,[23]
The _Elephant_[24] cunning, and _Fox_[25] too, so wary,
That though I don't know it for certain, I'm told
They cheat at Ecarte, like Hermes of old.

[Illustration: THE DEATH'S HEAD MOTH.]

The _Ghost_[26] and _Death's head_,[27] and that terrible host,
Would but scare all the guests"--Here the Emperor lost,
For a moment, his patience, and cried to his spouse,
"If thus you proceed, ma'am, my anger you'll rouse.
Like th' Egyptians of old, I'll have at my feast
A figure of death, or his cross-bones at least,
To remind all our guests of the limited span
That to moths is allotted, as well as to man,
And how e'en in the midst of enjoyment's gay hour,
We are still in death's stern and inflexible power.
So let them have cards, and I'll go and prepare
For receiving our friends, the best possible fare."
The Monarch then went with the _Eyed Hawk_,[28] his scout,
To search for a spot fit for g