The Poetical Writings of Fitz-Greene Halleck/The Modern Hydra
THE MODERN HYDRA.
here is a beast sublime and savage,
The Hydra by denomination;
Well doth he know his foes to ravage,
And barks and bites to admiration.
Fox—wolf—cat—dog—of each, at least, he
Has a full share, and never scants ’em;
But what is strangest in this beast, he
Can make new heads whene’er he wants ’em.
But when our Tammany Alcides
Had tomahawked his head political,
Straight from the bleeding trunk, out slid his
Well-filled noddle scientifical.
Another comes—another! see—
They rise in infinite variety;
One cries aloud, “Free-school trustee!”
The next exclaims, “Humane Society!”
Behold the fourth—bewhiskered—big—
A warlike cocked hat frowns upon it;
The fifth uprears a doctor’s wig,
The sixth displays the judgment-bonnet.
Herculean Noah! your strength you waste,
Reserve your furious cuts and slashes,
Till Satan stands beside the beast
With red-hot steel to sear the gashes.
