1799.5
[The pomp of courts, and pride of kings]
[Arthur O’Connor][1]
The Monthly Mirror, VII (February 1799), p. 127

The following curious lines, which, though apparently loyal, breathe the very spirit of Jacobinism, have been handed to us as the production of one of the United Irishmen, and a favourite song at their grand meetings. The figures denote the order in which the lines should follows according to the mental
reservation of the Irish Patriots:—

 1. The pomp of courts, and pride of kings,
 3. I prize above all earthly things;
 5. I love my country, but my king,
 7. Above all men his praise I'll sing.
 9. The royal banners are display'd,
11. And may success the standard aid:
 2. I fain would banish far from hence
 4. The Rights of Man and Common Sense.
 6. Destruction to that odious name,
 8. The plague of princes, Thomas Paine,
10. Defeat and ruin seize the cause
12. Of France, her liberty, and laws.

Notes

1. The author of these lines is identified as Arthur O'Connor in a letter to the editor of Drakard's Paper (later The Champion) on April 14, 1813. The verses are reprinted in the letter, but without the numbers.