In dire Contest the Rats and Weazles met, <br />And Foot to Foot, and Point to Point was set: <br />An ancient Quarrel had such Hatred wrought, <br />That for Revenge, as for Renown, they fought. <br />Now bloody was the Day, and hard the Strife, <br />Wherein bold Warriors lost neglected Life; <br />But as, some Errors still we must commit, <br />Nor Valour always ballanc'd is by Wit; <br />Among the Rats some Officers appear'd, <br />With lofty Plumage on their Foreheads rear'd, <br />Unthinking they, and ruin'd by their Pride: <br />For when the Weazles prov'd the stronger Side, <br />A gen'ral Rout befell, and a Retreat, <br />Was by the Vanquish'd now implor'd of Fate; <br />To slender Crannies all repair'd in haste, <br />Where easily the undress'd Vulgar past: <br />But when the Rats of Figure wou'd have fled, <br />So wide those branching Marks of Honour spread, <br />The Feather in the Cap was fatal to the Head.<br /><br />Anne Kingsmill Finch<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-battle-between-the-rats-and-the-weazles/
