If the jests that you crack have an orthodox smack,

You may get a bland smile from these sages;

But should it, by chance, be imported from France,

Half-a-crown is stopped out of your wages!

It’s a general rule,

Though your zeal it may quench

If the Family Fool

Makes a joke that’s too French,

Half-a-crown is stopped out of his wages!

Though your head it may rack with a bilious attack,