One circle first, and then a second makes."
Dunciad, b. ii. 400.
"It may be asked," said Bilderdyk in a note to his imitation of the Essay on Man,[1] "why the little stone is thrown into the water by a Dutchman in particular. The reason is, that the Dutch sailors when lying idle in the Thames, often amuse themselves in calm weather by throwing little stones along the surface of the water, so as to make ducks and drakes, as it is called. This practice the English look at with great astonishment, and wonder at a use of the hands so different from that which they make of their own in boxing."
[1] De Mensch. Pope's Essay on Man gevolgd door Mr. W. Bilderdyk. Amsterd. 1808.
Bilderdyk speaks contemptuously of Pope: yet it may be surmised, from the above commentary, that he was but ill qualified to criticise him, otherwise he would not have supposed that "plump" could have the remotest allusion to the light skimming amusement of "ducks and drakes;" not to mention that he would have suspected that it was no "steentje" that plumped into the lakes.
Satirical Verses on the Chancellor Clarendon's Downfall.
—In MS. Add. 4968., British Museum, a duodecimo volume containing a collection of arms and achievements tricked by a painter-stainer in the reign of Charles II., at fol. 62o. is the following poem "On the Chancellor's Downfall," which, if not already printed, may be worth preserving:—
Pride, lust, ambitions, and the kingdom's hate,
The Nation's broker, ruin of the State:
Dunkirke's sad loss, divider of the fleet,