THE ALLEY. AN IMITATION OF SPENCER. I. IN ev'ry town where Thamis rolls his tide, And many a boat soft sliding to and fro: Some play, some eat, some cack against the wall," And, as they crouchen low, for bread and butter call. II. And on the broken pavement here and there And hens, and dogs, and hogs, are feeding by: At every door are sunburnt matrons seen, Mending old nets to catch the scaly fry; Now singing shrill, and scolding oft between; Scolds answer foulmouth'd scolds; bad neighbourhood, I ween. III. The snappish cur (the passenger's annoy) And And her full pipes those shrilling cries confound IV. Hard by a sty, beneath a roof of thatch, Cod, whiting, oyster, mackrel, sprat, or plaice: cease. Slander, beside her, like a magpie chatters, With Envy (spitting cat) dread foe to peace; Like a curs'd cur, Malice before her clatters, And, vexing ev'ry wight, tears clothes and all to tatters. V. Her dugs were mark'd by ev'ry collier's hand, Would greet the man who turn'd him to the wall, VI. Such place hath Deptford, navy-building town; Woolwich and Wapping, smelling strong of pitch: Such Such Lambeth, envy of each band and gown; And Twick'nham such, which fairer scenes enrich, Grots, statues, urns, and Jo-n's dog and bitch; Ne village is without, on either side, All up the silver Thames, or all adown; Ne Richmond's self, from whose tall front are ey'd Vales, spires, meandring streams, and Windsor's tow'ry pride. THE CAPON'S TALE: TO A LADY, WHO FATHERED HER LAMPOONS UPON HER ACQUAINTANCE. IN Yorkshire dwelt a sober yeoman, And saw her cocks well serve her hens. A hen she had whose tuneful clocks With eyes so piercing, yet so pleasant, You would have sworn this hen a pheasant. Yet tender was this hen so fair, And hatch'd more chicks than she could rear. Our prudent dame bethought her then Of some dry nurse to save her hen: She made a capon drunk; in fine His His rump well pluck'd with nettles stings, And claps the brood beneath his wings. The feather'd dupe awakes content, Such, lady Mary, are your tricks; But since you hatch, pray own your chicks. THE ELEPHANT; OR, THE PARLIAMENT MAN. WRITTEN MANY YEARS SINCE. TAKEN FROM COKE'S INSTITUTES. ERE bribes convince you whom to choose, And let like him your member be: Thus Thus the lord Coke hath gravely writ, In all the form of lawyers wit; And then with Latin, and all that, Yet in some points my lord is wrong: VERSES TO BE PREFIXED BEFORE BERNARD LINTOT'S NEW MISCELLANY *. SOME Colinæus † praise, some Bleau †, Others account them but so so; Some Plantin to the rest prefer, And some esteem old Elzevir † ; *The Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany. Printers, famous for having published fine editions of the Bible, and of the Greek and Roman classicks. Others |