1830.] The Netherlands. 439 



The news from Brussels within the last few days has been alarming. 

 The city has been declared in a state of siege, and the populace seem to 

 be completely its masters. " Civic" troops are roving the country, and 

 fighting the Dutch. Every one must dread these horrors ; the Belgians 

 are in the wrong ; but such is the result of the crime of Charles the 

 Tenth, and the triumph which in his folly he forced upon the people. 



The Polignac ministry are formally impeached by the Chamber of 

 Deputies,; they can scarcely escape being found guilty ; but we must 

 hope that they will not suffer further. The Revolution is complete, so far 

 as Bourbons are concerned. Its merit is, to have been guided by a 

 spirit of moderation ; and the stain of blood, after this victory, would 

 be an infinite degradation to the name and cause of Freedom. 



BALLAD A LA BAYLY. 



I HAVE nor laughed nor smiled for years, 



Since first I learnt to know, 

 That smiles are channels for our tears, 



That very watery woe 

 That odd compound of sodas, salts, 



Which forms the home-made rain, 

 With which we mourn our friends or faults, 



Our penury or pain. 



Age steals on all dolts, dustmen, dukes, 



Rakes, men who say their prayers, 

 And men who keep their youthful looks 



The longest even on players ! 

 Grimaldi's star too soon has set ; 



That satellite, his son, 

 May round his orbit pirouette, 



But not reflect his fun. 



Dick Jones, as frisky as a fly, 



Mercutio of the day, 

 (Time writes his truths too legibly !) 



May yet grow grave and grey. 

 Poor Liston's a wet-Baptist grown, 



Some say he has been dipped ; 

 Joe Munderi's laugh is now a groan, 



And even Harley's hypped* 



Yes five-and-twenty years will make 



A change in mortal things : 

 I've seen it some strange freedoms take 



With very decent kings. 

 A quarter-century, when o'er, 



Appears by no means recent ; 

 It made a saint of naughty Moore, 



And Broad-Grin Colman decent. 



