Author: Anon

This poem appears in our anthology

Publication: Paisley Advertiser

Published: 31 December 1831

Place of publication: Paisley, Scotland

Publication type: Newspaper/Periodical

Featured individuals:
King Leopold I of Belgium (1790-1865)
Pedro I of Brazil (1798-1834)
Daniel O'Connell (1775-1847)

A full copy of this poem is available.

Archive/Library: Paisley Central Library

This long poem of ten (8-line) stanzas published on the last day of 1831 anticipates the changes that 1832 may bring, by going over the events of 1831. The global scope of the poet is clear, taking in Poland, France, Brazil, Belgium and China. In the final stanza the poet muses on the fate of the reform bill in a society starting to feel the impact of a cholera epidemic: 'The attention of England is all engrossed,/ By Cholera, and the Bill -/ Though the one should be caught, and the other be lost,/ The world will move on still.'