Thro' which they quickly broke their way, 835
And brought them off from further fray;
And tho' disorder'd in retreat,
Each of them stoutly kept his seat;
For quitting both their swords and reins,
They grasp'd with all their strength the manes; 840
And, to avoid the foe's pursuit,
With spurring put their cattle to't,
And till all four were out of wind,
And danger too, ne'er look'd behind.[1]
After they'd paus'd awhile, supplying 845
Their spirits, spent with fight and flying,
And Hudibras recruited force
Of lungs, for action or discourse:
Quoth he, That man is sure to lose
That fouls his hands with dirty foes: 850
For where no honour's to be gain'd,
'Tis thrown away in be'ng maintain'd:
'Twas ill for us we had to do
With so dishon'rable a foe:
For tho' the law of arms doth bar 855
The use of venom'd shot in war,[2]
Yet by the nauseous smell, and noisome,
Their case-shot savours strong of poison;
And, doubtless, have been chew'd with teeth
Of some that had a stinking breath; 860
Else when we put it to the push,
They had not giv'n us such a brush:
But as those poltroons that fling dirt,
Do but defile, but cannot hurt;
So all the honour they have won, 865
Or we have lost, is much at one.
- ↑ Presumed to be a sneer at the Earl of Argyll, who more than once fled from Montrose and never looked behind till he was out of danger, as at Inverary in 1644, Inverlochie, and Kilsyth; and in like manner from Monro at Stirling Bridge, where he did not look behind him till, after eighteen miles hard riding, he had reached the North Queen's ferry and possessed himself of a boat, whence arose the saying—"One pair of heels is worth two pairs of hands."
- ↑ "Abusive language and fustian are as unfair in controversy as poisoned arrows or chewed bullets in battle."
