Sir Jeff'ry shook his head awhile,
Then spoke with a complacent smile.
"Though in a diff'ring point of view,
I know her just as well as you;
And hang the hag she plagues me too. | } |
Need I, good fellow, need I tell ye,
She deck'd me out with this great belly;
'Tis she, by way of friendly treat,
Has given this pair of gouty feet;
Nay sometimes when her whim commands
Miss-Fortune robs me of my hands:
'Tis she with her intention vile
That makes me overflow with bile;
And tho' my table's spread with plenty
Of ev'ry nice and costly dainty,
She sometimes envies me a bite,
And takes away my appetite.
She does not meddle with my wealth,
But then she undermines my health;
She never in my strong box looks,
Nor pries into my banker's books;
My ample fortune I contrive
To guard with care and make it thrive,
I check her power to destroy it,
But then she says, 'you sha'n't enjoy it;
I will take care you shall endure
The ills and pains gold cannot cure.'
Or leagu'd with wrinkled age at least,
She strives to interrupt the feast.
—But with her malice I contend,
Where she's a foe, I'm oft a friend,
And, with the weapons I can wield,
I sometimes drive her from the field.
Nay when she does the victim clasp,
I snatch it from her cruel grasp.
And thus you see, or more or less,
I make her prove my happiness." |
Quæ Genus.
"There was indeed a time when I
Knew her but by warm sympathy
With those who did her burthen bear,
Which I have since been forc'd to share;
But this, at least, I'm pleas'd to own,
And 'tis a truth to you well known,