Now sometimes he would give a scope
To his propensity to joke.
For 'mid this pale-fac'd, grumbling mess
'Twere well to stir some chearfulness:
For if a parson chose to squeeze
A lady on her crummy knees,
(For here a little play and prate
Might cheer a sickly tête-à-tête)
His whisper might perchance declare,
"Doctor, her pulses are not there."