"It lies as sightly on the back of him,
As great Alcides' _shows_ upon an ass."
I consider _shows_ to be the true reading; the reference being to the
ancient _mysteries_, called also _shows_. The machinery required for the
celebration of the mysteries was carried by _asses_. Hence the proverb:
"Asinus portat mysteriæ." The connexion of Hercules--"great Alcides"--with
the mysteries, may be learned from Aristophanes and many other ancient
writers. And thus the meaning of the passage seems to be: The lion's skin,
which once belonged to Richard of the Lion Heart, is as sightly on the back
of _Austria_, as were the mysteries of Hercules upon an ass.