And those hoops trundled off thee as well,
With less ample a skirt thou would’st look less a fright,
And more belle-like when less like a bell.
’Tis not by mere Swells taste in dressing is shown,
And that size is not beauty ’tis clear;
Nay, the shapeliest forms when balloon-like out blown,
Both distorted and ugly appear.
Then heed not what fashions le Follet may set,
Be enslaved by no follies like those;
For be sure that your dresses, the wider they get,