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On carcasses of ev'ry kind

This maw hath elegantly din'd;
Provok'd by luxury or need,

On beast, or fowl, or man, I feed:
Such small distinction's in the savour,
By turns I chuse the fancy'd flavour:
Yet I must own (that human beast)
A glutton is the rankest feast.

Man, cease this boast; for human pride
Hath various tracts to range beside.
The prince who kept the world in awe,
The judge whose dictate fix'd the law,
The rich, the poor, the great, the small,
Are levell'd; death confounds them all.
Then think not that we reptiles share
Such cates, such elegance of fare;

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AY AND NO.

A FABLE.

IN Fable all things hold discourse;

Then words no doubt must talk of course.
Once on a time, near Cannon-row,

Two hostile adverbs, Ay and No,
Were hast'ning to the field of fight,
And front to front stood opposite;
Before each gen'ral join'd the van,
Ay, the more courteous knight, began:
Stop, peevish Particle! beware!
I'm told you are not such a bear,
But sometimes yield when offer'd fair.
Suffer yon' folks a while to tattle;
'Tis we who must decide the battle.
Whene'er we war on yonder stage,
With various fate and equal rage,
The nation trembles at each blow
That No gives Ay, and Ay gives No;
Yet in expensive long contention,
We gain nor office, grant, or pension.
Why then should kinsfolks quarrel thus ?
(For two of you make one of us.)
To some wise statesman let us go,
Where each his proper use may know:

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He may admit two such commanders,

And make those wait who serv'd in Flanders.
Let's quarter on a great man's tongue,
A treas'ry lord, not Maister Y----g.
Obsequious at his high command,
Ay shall march forth to tax the land;
Impeachments No can best resist,
And Ay support the civil list:
Ay, quick as Cæsar, wins the day,
And No, like Fabius, by delay.
Sometimes in mutual sly disguise,

Let Ay's seem No's and No's seem Ay's;
Ay's be in courts denials meant,
And No's in bishops' give consent.
Thus Ay propos'd---and, for reply,
No, for the first time, answer'd Ay!
They parted with a thousand kisses,
And fight e'er since for pay, like Swisses.

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