A swinging sign on the front of a public-house on the borders of Dartmoor could once boast of like following quaint invitations.
The side presented to view, prior to entering the wild waste, underneath a rude painting of a weary traveller in a storm, had the following rude couplet:
"Before the wild moor you venture to pass,
Pray step within and take a glass."
The attempt at poetry on the reverse side, below a highly-coloured daub representing a Christmas fire on the hearth, surrounded by a goodly band of jolly fellows, read thus:
"Now that the bleak moor you've safely got over,
Do stop a while, your spirits to recover."
Over the door of a spirit and beer shop at the lower end of Market or High Street, Plymouth, may be seen the following very salutary aid disinterested piece of advice. It is printed in the triangle formed by the spread of a gigantic pair of compasses, which gives name to the house:
"Keep within compass,
And then you'll be sure,