Ballads of Books Author:Andrew Lang Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: BALLADE OF BIBLIOCLASTS. GRAHAM R. Tomson. Longman's Magazine. WHERE is that baleful maid Who Shakspere's pages shred ? Whose slow diurnal raid The flames ... more »with Stephen fed ? Where is Duhe Humphrey sped ? And where the Henries' book — They all are vanished With Betty Barnes, the Cook. 1 And now her ghost dismayed In woful ways doth tread,— (Nay, once the weary shade Sir Walter visited)2— Where culprits sore bestead, In damp or fiery nook, Repent their deeds of dread, With Betty Barnes, the Cook. There Bagford's evil trade Is fitly punished, 1 Cook of Mr. Warburton, Somerset Herald. She burned, among many other quartos, Shakspere's Henry I. and //. and King Stephen. 3 See Introduction to Fortunes of Nigel. And fierce the flames have played Round Omar's guilty head : The Biblioclastic Dead Have diverse pains to brook, 'Mid Rats and Rain-pools led With Betty Barnes, the Cook. Envoy. Caxton ! be comforted— For those who wronged thee—look ! They break Affliction's bread With Betty Barnes, the Cook. A TRAITOR. F. FERTIAULT. Les Amonrcuxdu Lrvre,p. 28. Paris, 1877. 'r I ""IS here, the Book you begged for so, J- The present that you craved, behold it! I half distrusted you, you know ; And now I've bought it—where you sold it! I liked you once, the page that told it, You've cut, uncut the others though, From old esteem you've fallen low, To vend my book ; you once extolled it! 'Tis well; I've learned your lesson, friend, When next you want a book I've writ, I'll add no line of prose nor verse, I'll give no book, but take my purse, And save you trouble, and extend A hand that holds the price of it ! A. L. A DOMESTIC EVENT. F. FERTIAULT. From ' Les Amourna du Livre.' BACK from a tedious holiday He comes, and—Duty first—he ...« less