The nymph surveys him, and beholds the grace
Of charming features and a youthful face,
In her soft breast contending passions move,
And the warm maid confess'd a mutual love.
[DONE BY THE AUTHOR IN HIS YOUTH.]
WOMEN ben full of ragerie,
Yet swinken nat sans secresie.
Thilke moral shall ye understond,
From schoole-boy's tale of fayre Irelond;
Which to the fennes hath him betake,
To filche the grey ducke fro the lake.
Right then there passen by the way
His aunt, and eke her daughters tway.
Ducke in his trowses hath he hent,
Not to be spy'd of ladies gent.
"But ho! our nephew," crieth one;
"Ho!" qnoth another," Cozen John;"
And stoppen, and lough, and callen out—
This sely clerke full low doth lout:
Then asken that, and talken this,
"Lo, here is Coz, and here is Miss."
But, as he glozeth with speeches soote,
The ducke sore tickleth his erse roote:
Fore-piece and buttons all-to-brest
Forth thrust a white neck and red crest.
"Te-hee!" cry'd ladies: clerke nought spake :
Miss star'd, and grey ducke crieth "quake."
"O moder, moder!" quoth the daughter,
"Be thilke same thing maids longen a❜ter?
"Bette is to pine on coals and chalke,
"Then trust on mon whose yerde can talke."
In ev'ry town where Thamis rolls his tyde, A narrow pass there is, with houses low, Where ever and anon the stream is ey❜d, And many a boat soft sliding to and fro: There oft' are heard the notes of infant woe,
The short thick sob, loud scream, and shriller squall:
How can ye, mothers, vex your children so?
Some play, some eat, some cack against the wall,
And as they crouchen low, for bread and butter call.
And on the broken pavement, here and there,
Doth many a stinking sprat and herring lie;
A brandy and tobacco shop is near,
And hens, and dogs, and hogs, are feeding by;
And here a sailor's jacket hangs to dry.
At ev'ry door are sunburnt matrons seen
Mending old nets to catch the scaly fry;
Now singing shrill, and scolding eft between ; Scolds answer foul-mouth'd scolds; bad neighbourhood I ween.
The snappish cur (the passengers annoy)
Close at my heel with yelping treble flies;
The whimp'ring girl, and hoarser screaming boy,
Join to the yelping treble shrilling cries;
The scolding quean to louder notes doth rise,
And her full pipes those shrilling cries confound:
To her full pipes the grunting hog replies:
The grunting hogs alarm the neighbours round,
And curs, girls, boys, and scolds, in the deep base
are drown'd.
Hard by a sty, beneath a roof of thatch,
Dwelt Obloquy, who in early days
Baskets of fish at Billingsgate did watch,
Cod, whiting, oyster, mackrel, sprat, or place:
There learn'd she speech from tongues that never
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 tat-
Her dugs were mark'd by ev'ry collier's hand;
Her mouth was black as bull-dogs at the stall :
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