Apology for Her — Parliament Cake

Apology for Her ¹
Be rendered by the Bee－
Herself, without a Parliament
Apology for Me.

(F.959/J.852)

[1] Apology:: a substitute _{(OED n. 4)}.
[2] rendered, Bee:: using honey to substitute the treacle for the cake.
[3] Parliament:: short for parliament-cake _{(OED n.1 7)}.
[4] Apology:: an expression of regret for without a genuine parliament-cake.
[1, 4] Her, Herself, Me:: a housewife and the narrator. These capitals are suspicious.

This poem mocks at the nation's parliament.

[1] Her:: the country.
[2] Bee:: one with whimsical thoughts.
[3] Parliament:: conversation, conference, consultation; a discussion or debate _{(OED n.1 1)}.
[4] Me:: a citizen.

Hoped every shrew would prove a dumb cake, and every patriot a parliament cake.——Mirth and Metre by Charles Isaac M. Dibdin (1807)

Parliament-cake, a thin species of gingerbread, supposed to have had its name from its being used by the members of the Scottish Parliament during their sederunts.——Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1825)

Parliament Cakes. – Mix prepared treacle and flour together into a moderately stiff dough; some add a little butter to the flour. Roll it out into thin sheets on an even hoard, and cut it out with a square scolloped cutter; place them on buttered tins, nearly touching each other; brush off the flour, and wash the tops with clean water, which should be suffered to get dry before they are put into the oven, or the cakes will be liable to blister during the time they are baking; bake them in a cool oven. Whilst they are hot, put them together in piles, and press them with a flat board, which will make them smooth and even.——The Complete Biscuit and Gingerbread Baker's Assistant (1854)