This said, he to his engine flew,
Plac’d near at hand, in open view,
And rais’d it ’till it levell’d right
Against the glow-worm tail of kite, 450
Then peeping thro’, Bless us! (quoth he)
It is a planet, now I see
And, if I err not, by his proper
Figure, that’s like tobacco-stopper,
It should be Saturn.  Yes, ’tis clear 455
’Tis Saturn; but what makes him there? 
He’s got between the Dragon’s Tail
And farther Leg behind o’ th’ Whale. 
Pray heav’n divert the fatal omen,
For ’tis a prodigy not common; 460
And can no less than the world’s end,
Or Nature’s funeral, portend.

With that he fell again to pry. 
Thro’ perspective more wistfully,
When by mischance the fatal string, 465
That kept the tow’ring fowl on wing,
Breaking, down fell the star.  Well shot,
Quoth Whachum, who right wisely thought
H’ had levell’d at a star, and hit it
But Sidrophel, more subtle-witted, 470
Cry’d out, What horrible and fearful
Portent is this, to see a star fall? 
It threatens nature, and the doom
Will not be long before it come
When stars do fail, ’tis plain enough, 475
The day of judgment’s not far off;
As lately ’twas reveal’d to Sedgwick,
And some of us find out by magick. 
Then since the time we have to live
In this world’s shorten’d, let us strive 480
To make our best advantage of it,
And pay our losses with our profit.

This feat fell out not long before
The Knight, upon the forenam’d score,
In quest of Sidrophel advancing, 485
Was now in prospect of the mansion
Whom he discov’ring, turn’d his glass,
And found far off, ’twas Hudibras.