the pessimism […] in this country was in the saddle even before Saddam Hussein came along

Children, sit down on your fannies, and eat your lunch.

It proved to be a cold day.

But when Astrea’s Ballance, hung on high, / Betwixt the Nights and Days divides the Sky, / Then Yoke your Oxen, ſow your Winter Grain; / ’Till cold December comes with driving Rain.