He had fifty daughters and four dozen sons,
Of whom all such as came of age were stowed--
The former in a palace, where like nuns
They lived till some Bashaw was sent abroad,
When she whose turn it was, was wed at once,
Sometimes at six years old--though this seems odd,
'Tis true: the reason is, that the Bashaw
Must make a present to his sire-in-law.
His sons were kept in prison, till they grew
Of years to fill a bowstring or the throne,--
One or the other, but which of the two
Could yet be known unto the Fates alone:
Meantime the education they went through
Was princely, as the proofs have always shown;
So that the heir-apparent still was found
No less deserving to be hanged than crowned.