AN INVITATION, BY DR. DELANY, IN THE NAME OF DR. SWIFT
Mighty Thomas, a solemn senatus[1] I call,
To consult for Sapphira;[2] so come one and all;
Quit books, and quit business, your cure and your care,
For a long winding walk, and a short bill of fare.
I've mutton for you, sir; and as for the ladies,
As friend Virgil has it, I've aliud mercedis;
For Letty,[3] one filbert, whereon to regale;
And a peach for pale Constance,[4] to make a full meal;
And for your cruel part, who take pleasure in blood,
I have that of the grape, which is ten times as good:
Flow wit to her honour, flow wine to her health:
High raised be her worth above titles or wealth.[5]
[Footnote 1: To correct Mrs. Barber's poems; which were published at
London, in 4to, by subscription.]
[Footnote 2: The name by which Mrs, Barber was distinguished by her
friends.—N.]
[Footnote 2: Mrs. Pilkington.—N.]
[Footnote 3: Mrs. Constantia Grierson, a very learned young lady, who
died in 1733, at the age of 27.—N.]
[Footnote 4: Mrs. Van Lewen, Mrs. Pilkington's mother. Swift had
ultimately good reason to regret his intimacy with the Pilkingtons, and
the favours he showed them. See accounts of them in the "Dictionary of
National Biography."—. W. E. B.]