VII.

FLOORING OF MERCURY, OR BURNING THE OAKS. 131 A scene in Tom Quadrangle, Oxford.

"If wits aright their tale of terror tell, A little after great Mercurius fell,

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Gownsmen and Townsmen throng'd the water's edge To gaze upon the dreadful sacrilege:

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------there with drooping mien a silent band Canons and Bedmaker together stand:--

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In equal horror all alike were seen, And shuddering scouts forgot to cap the Dean."