The Genuine Remains in Verse and Prose of Mr. Samuel Butler/Volume 1/Description of Holland
DESCRIPTION OF HOLLAND.
A country that draws fifty Foot of Water,
In which Men live, as in the Hold of Nature;
And when the Sea does in upon them break,
And drown a Province, does but spring a Lake,
That always ply the Pump, and never think
They can be safe, but at the Rate they stink;
That live, as if they had been run aground,
And, when they die, are cast away and drown'd;
That dwell in Ships, like Swarms of Rats, and prey
Upon the Goods, all Nations fleets convey,
And, when their Merchants are blown up and crackt;
Whole Towns are cast away in Storms, and wreckt;
That feed, like Canibals, on other Fishes,
And serve their Cousin-Germans up in Dishes:
A Land, that rides at Anchor, and is moor'd,
In which they do not live, but go aboard.
In which Men live, as in the Hold of Nature;
And when the Sea does in upon them break,
And drown a Province, does but spring a Lake,
That always ply the Pump, and never think
They can be safe, but at the Rate they stink;
That live, as if they had been run aground,
And, when they die, are cast away and drown'd;
That dwell in Ships, like Swarms of Rats, and prey
Upon the Goods, all Nations fleets convey,
And, when their Merchants are blown up and crackt;
Whole Towns are cast away in Storms, and wreckt;
That feed, like Canibals, on other Fishes,
And serve their Cousin-Germans up in Dishes:
A Land, that rides at Anchor, and is moor'd,
In which they do not live, but go aboard.