CANTO XII.

Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross,
To see an old woman ride on a white horse.
Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes,
She shall have music wherever she goes.

The above verse commemorates an epoch in the Poet's lifetime. He went to
the Circus. A noteworthy event, when it is considered how few Circuses
there were in those days, and how seldom those few came near enough to
disturb the calm of an out-of-the-way country village. Such a thing had
never occurred before in his lifetime, nor within the memory of the
oldest inhabitant. All were therefore properly impressed with the
importance of the occurrence, and none more so than the excitable,
impressible, enthusiastic Poet. For days before the one appointed to
make the journey to the Market Town, he was in a great state of
excitement and hilarious pleasure, and with difficulty controlled his
inclinations to laugh, dance, and sing, and otherwise gayly disport
himself. The exuberance of his spirits caused no little alarm to his
family, who feared he was going mad with delight, and endeavored in
every possible way to quiet down the dangerous symptoms.

"In vain did his mother command him to stop:
He only laughed louder and higher did hop;"

till at last, fearing the torrent could never be stemmed, she thought to
direct it in a less dangerous channel.

So, putting on her most insinuating expression she asked, "Why don't you
write a piece about the Circus? It might be real nice. Tell all about