Were feen contending in a race;
And kept at first an equal pace;
'Tis faid their courfe continued long ;
For this was active, that was ftrong:
Till envy, flander, floth, and doubt,
Mifled them many a league about.
Seduce'd by fome deceiving light,
They take the wrong way for the right:
Through flipp'y by-roads dark and deep
They often climb, and often creep.
Defire, the fwifter of the two,
Along the plain like lightning flew :
Till ent'ring in a broad highway,
Where power and titles fcatter'd lay,
He ftrove to pick up all he found,
And by excurfions loft his ground:
No fooner got, than with difdain
He threw them on the ground again;
And hafted forward to pursue
Fresh objects fairer to his view;
In hope to fpring fome nobler game;
But all he took was juft the fame
Too fcornful now to stop his pace,
He fpurn'd them in his rival's face.
Poffeffion kept the beaten road;
And gather'd all his brother ftrow'd;
But overcharg'd, and out of wind,
Though ftrong in limbs, he lagg'd behind.
Defire had now the goal in fight:
It was a tow'r of monftrous height;
Where on the fummit Fortune ftands,.
A crown and fceptre in her hands;
Beneath a chafm as deep as hell,.
Where many a bold advent'rer fell.
Defire in rapture gaz'd a while,
And faw the treach'rous goddess smile;
But as he climb'd to grasp the crown,
She knock'd him with the fceptre down.
He tumbled in the gulf profound;
There doom'd to whirl an endless round.
Poffeffion's load was grown fo great,
He funk beneath the cumb'rous weight:
And as he now expiring lay,
Flocks ev'ry ominous bird of prey:
The raven, vulture, owl, and kite,
At once upon his carcafe light,
And ftrip his hide, and pick his bones,
Regardless of his dying groans.
Written in the year 1727.
wife, inftruct me to endure
An evil which admits no cure ;
Or how this evil can be borne,
Which breeds at once both hate and scorn.
Bare innocence is no fupport,
When you are try'd in scandal's court.
Stand high in honour, wealth or wit;
All others who inferior fit,
Conceive themselves in confcience bound
To join and drag you to the ground.
Your altitude offends the eyes
Of those who want the pow'r to rise.
The world, a willing stander-by,
Inclines to aid a fpecious lie:
MISCELLANIES IN VERSE.
Alas, they would not do you wrong,
But all appearances are ftrong.
Yet whence proceeds this weight we lay
On what detracting people say?
For let mankind difcharge their tongues
In venom, till they burft their lungs,
Their utmoft malice cannot make
Your head, or tooth, or finger ake;
Nor fpoil your fhape, diftort your face,
Or put one feature out of place;
Nor will you find your fortune sink,
By what they speak, or what they think;
Nor can ten hundred thousand lies
Make you lefs virtuous, learn'd, or wife.
The most effectual way to baulk
Their malice, is- to let them talk.
The Furniture of a WOMAN's mind.
Written in the year 1727.
A Set of phrafes learn'd by rote;
A paffion for a scarlet coat;
When at a play to laugh, or cry,
Yet cannot tell the reason why;
Never to hold her tongue a minute,
While all fhe prates has nothing in it:
Whole hours can with a coxcomb fit,
And take his nonfenfe all for wit;
Her learning mounts to read a fong.
But half the words pronouncing wrong;
Hath ev'ry repartee in store,
She fpoke ten thousand times before;
Can ready compliments fupply
On all occafions cut and dry ;
Such hatred to a parfon's gown,
The fight will put her in a fwoon;
For converfation well endu'd,
She calls it witty to be rude;
And placing raillery in railing,
Will tell aloud your greatest failing;
Nor makes a fcruple to expose
Your bandy leg, or crooked nofe;
Can at her morning-tea run o'er
The fcandal of the day before:
Improving hourly in her skill,
To cheat and wrangle at quadrille,
In chufing lace a critic nice,
Knows to a groat the lowest price ;
Can in her female clubs difpute,
What linen best the tilk will fuit,
What colours each complexion match,
And where with art to place a patch.
If chance a mouse creeps in her fight,
Can finely counterfeit a fright;
So sweetly screams, if it comes near her,
She ravishes all hearts to hear her.
Can dext'rously her husband tease,
By taking fits whene'er the please ;
By frequent practice learns the trick
At proper feafons to be fick ;
Thinks nothing gives one airs fo pretty,
At once creating love and pity;
If Molly happens to be careless,
And but neglects to warm her hair-lace.
She gets a cold as fure as death,
And vows she scarce can fetch her breath;
Admires how modeft women can
Be fo robuftious like a man,
In party, furious to her pow'r; A bitter Whig, or Tory four; Her arguments directly tend Against the fide fhe would defend Will prove herself a Tory plain,
From principles the Whigs maintain ;
And to defend the Whiggish cause,
Her topics from the Tories draws.
O yes if any man can find
More virtues in a woman's mind,
Let them be sent to Mrs. Harding†;
She'll pay the charges to a farthing;
Take notice, fhe has my commiffion
To add them in the next edition
They may outfell a better thing:
So, holla boys; God fave the King.
Clever TOM CLINCH going to be hanged.
Written in the year 1727.
AS clever Tom Clinch, while the rabble was
Rode ftately through Holbourn to die in his calling,
He ftopt at the George for a bottle of fack,
And promis'd to pay for it when he came back.
O yes,; a corruption of oyez, hear ye; a word used by criers. + A printer.
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