See! BETTY LOVEIT very à propos !
She all the pains of love and play does know,
Deeply experienc'd many years ago.
Dear BETTY fhall th' important point decide,
BETTY, who oft the pains of each has try'd:
Impartial, fhe fhall fay who fuffers most,
By cards' ill-ufage, or by lovers lost.
Tell, tell your griefs: attentive will I ftay,
Though time is precious, and I want fome tea.
CARDELIA.
Behold this equipage by MATHERS wrought,
With fifty guineas (a great pen'orth!) bought :
See on the tooth-pick MARS and CUPID strive,
And both the struggling figures seem to live.
Upon the bottom fee the queen's bright face;
A myrtle foliage round the thimble case;
JOVE, JOVE himself does on the fciffars fhine,
The metal and the workmanship divine.
This fnuff-box, once the pledge of SHARPER'S love, When rival beauties for the present strove→
(At CORTICELLI's he the raffle won,
There firft his paffion was in public shown;
HAZARDIA blush'd, and turn'd her head afide,
Her rival's envy all in vain to hide)
This fnuff-box-on the hinge fee diamonds fhine-
This fnuff-box will I ftake, the prize is mine.
CARDELIA.
Alas! far fmaller loffes than I bear,
Have made a foldier figh, a lover swear :
But oh! what makes the disappointment hard,
'Twas my own lord who drew the fatal card!-
In complaifance I took the queen he gave,
Though my own fecret wish was for the knave :
The knave won fon ecart that I had chofe,
And the next pull my septleva I lose.
But ah! what aggravates the killing fmart,
The cruel thought that stabs me to the heart,
This curs'd OMBRELIA, this undoing fair,
By whofe vile arts this heavy grief I bear,
She at whofe name I shed these spiteful tears,
She owes to me the very charms fhe wears:
An aukward thing when firft fhe came to town,
Her fhape unfashion'd, and her face unknown.
She was my friend, I taught her first to spread
Upon her fallow cheeks enlivening red;
I introduc'd her to the park and plays,
And by my int'reft COSINS made her stays.
Ungrateful wretch! with mimic airs grown pert,
She dares to fteal my favourite lover's heart.
CARDELIA.
Wretch that I was! how often have I fwore,
When WINNALL tallied, I would punt no more!
I know the bite, yet to my ruin run,
And fee the folly which I cannot shun.
How many maids have SHARPER'S vows deceiv'd! How many curs'd the moment they believ'd! Yet his known falfhood could no warning prove: Ah! what are warnings to a maid in love!
But of what marble must that breast be form'd,
To gaze on Baffette, and remain unwarm'd ?·
When kings, queens, knaves are fet in decent rank,
Expos'd in glorious heaps the tempting bank,
Guineas, half-guineas, all the shining train,
The winner's pleasure, and the lofer's pain,
In bright confufion open rouleaus lie,
They strike the foul, and glitter in the eye;
Fir'd by the fight, all reason I disdain,
My paffions rise, and will not bear the rein:
Look upon Baffette, you who reafon boast,
And fee if reafon may not there be loft.
What more than marble must that breast compose,
That liftens coldly to my SHARPER'S vows!
Then when he trembles, when his blushes rise,
When aweful love feems melting in his eyes !
With
beats his Mechlin cravat moves ;
He loves, I whisper to myself, he loves!
Such unfeign'd paffion in his look appears,
I lose all mem❜ry of my former fears;
My panting heart confeffes all his charms;
I yield at once, and fink into his arms.
Think of that moment, you who prudence boast
For fuch a moment, prudence well were loft.
At the groom-porter's, batter'd bullies play
Some dukes at Marybon bowl time away!
But who the bowl, or rattling dice compares
To Baffette's heavenly joys and pleasing cares?
Soft SIMPLICETTA doats upon a beau;
PRUDINA likes a man, and laughs at show:
Their several graces in my SHARPER meet;
Strong as the footman, as the master sweet.
LOVEIT.
Cease your contention, which has been too long,
I grow impatient, and the tea grows ftrong:
Attend, and yield to what I now decide;
The equipage fhall grace SMILINDA'S fide
The fnuff-box to CARDELIA I decree;
So leave complaining, and begin your tea.
OW twenty fprings had cloth'd the park with green,
Since LYDIA knew the bloffoms of fifteen;
No lovers now her morning hours moleft;
And catch her at her toilette half undrest.
The thund'ring knocker wakes the street no more,
Nor chairs, nor coaches crowd the filent door ;
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