The London-Spy Compleat In Eighteen Parts By the Author of the Trip to Jamaica [i.e. Edward Ward] |
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 | I. |
| II. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
On White-Fryars. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
 | The London-Spy Compleat In Eighteen Parts |  |
On White-Fryars.
The
Place where Knaves their Revels kept,
And bid the Laws Defiance;
Where Whores and Thieves for Safety crept,
Is of her Filthy Swarms clean Swept,
Her Lazy Crew that sculk'd for Debt,
Have lost their chief Reliance.
And bid the Laws Defiance;
Where Whores and Thieves for Safety crept,
Is of her Filthy Swarms clean Swept,
Her Lazy Crew that sculk'd for Debt,
Have lost their chief Reliance.
The Vermin of the Law, the Bum,
Who gladly kept his Distance,
Does safely now in Triumph come,
And if he finds the Wretch at Home,
He Executes the Fatal Doom,
Without the least Resistance.
Who gladly kept his Distance,
Does safely now in Triumph come,
And if he finds the Wretch at Home,
154
Without the least Resistance.
Villains of ev'ry Black Degree,
Were on this Spot Collected;
Oaths, Curses, Lies and Blasphemie,
Pass'd Currantly from He to She,
Made Vertue stare to Hear and See,
What Vices here were Acted.
Were on this Spot Collected;
Oaths, Curses, Lies and Blasphemie,
Pass'd Currantly from He to She,
Made Vertue stare to Hear and See,
What Vices here were Acted.
A Soil where Sin could only Grow,
And Dev'lish Dark Opinion;
A Looking-Glass on Earth to show,
How Fiends and Devils Live Below,
That Mankind might the Discords know,
That dwell in Hells Dominion.
And Dev'lish Dark Opinion;
A Looking-Glass on Earth to show,
How Fiends and Devils Live Below,
That Mankind might the Discords know,
That dwell in Hells Dominion.
The Streets were Stain'd and Houses Lin'd,
With Bloodshed, Sin, and Sorrow;
So wicked, it was hard to find,
One Christian with an upright Mind;
But seem'd to be a place design'd,
To perish like Gomorrha.
With Bloodshed, Sin, and Sorrow;
So wicked, it was hard to find,
One Christian with an upright Mind;
But seem'd to be a place design'd,
To perish like Gomorrha.
The sodden Sinners here that Liv'd
With Pox, look'd Pale as Tallow,
By whom no God was e'er believ'd,
Or Man amongst 'em ever thriv'd,
But that Curs'd Wretch who daily striv'd,
To be the Basest Fellow.
With Pox, look'd Pale as Tallow,
By whom no God was e'er believ'd,
Or Man amongst 'em ever thriv'd,
But that Curs'd Wretch who daily striv'd,
To be the Basest Fellow.
To Thieve, Pick Pockets, Whore, and Cheat,
Were all their chiefest Study;
And He or She that was unfit
For any Rogu'ry, or Deceit,
Such a Poor Rascal had no Wit,
And she a silly Dowdy.
Were all their chiefest Study;
And He or She that was unfit
For any Rogu'ry, or Deceit,
Such a Poor Rascal had no Wit,
And she a silly Dowdy.
155
Pox, Poverty, Dirt, Rags, and Lice,
By most were carr'd about 'em:
They were too Nasty to be Nice,
And all their daily Exercise,
Were Whoring, Drinking, Cards, and Dice,
No Living here without 'em.
By most were carr'd about 'em:
They were too Nasty to be Nice,
And all their daily Exercise,
Were Whoring, Drinking, Cards, and Dice,
No Living here without 'em.
No Orders did they mind or Hours;
But free of all Restriction,
Each Tippling-House kept Open Doors,
At Midnight for Sots, Rogues, and Whores.
To Curse and VVrangle at All-Fours,
And vent their Maledictions.
But free of all Restriction,
Each Tippling-House kept Open Doors,
At Midnight for Sots, Rogues, and Whores.
To Curse and VVrangle at All-Fours,
And vent their Maledictions.
But now the wicked Scene withdraws,
And makes an Alteration;
Its Purg'd and Cleans'd by wholesome Laws,
And is become a Sober Place,
VVhere Honesty may show its Face,
VVithout Disreputation.
And makes an Alteration;
Its Purg'd and Cleans'd by wholesome Laws,
And is become a Sober Place,
VVhere Honesty may show its Face,
VVithout Disreputation.
| The London-Spy Compleat In Eighteen Parts | |