 | The Poetical Works of the Ingenious and Learned William Meston |  |
“Thou asks a gift, and would be glad,
‘To know if Phoebus be thy dad:
‘This is a thing I never doubted,
‘I took thy mother's word about it;
‘And had thou wit as thou hast years,
‘ Thou might perceive it by my fears.
‘Consider only, if Apollo,
‘The God of wit, would be so shallow,
‘So great a blockhead, or so dull,
‘To vex his head, or rack his scull,
‘With needless fears or cares, and that
‘For any common strumpet's brat;
‘If I did so, (as proverb tells),
‘I well deserved hood and bells.
‘Judge ye how such a dress would fit
‘The noddle of the God of wit.
‘To know if Phoebus be thy dad:
‘This is a thing I never doubted,
‘I took thy mother's word about it;
‘And had thou wit as thou hast years,
‘ Thou might perceive it by my fears.
‘Consider only, if Apollo,
‘The God of wit, would be so shallow,
‘So great a blockhead, or so dull,
‘To vex his head, or rack his scull,
‘With needless fears or cares, and that
‘For any common strumpet's brat;
‘If I did so, (as proverb tells),
‘I well deserved hood and bells.
‘Judge ye how such a dress would fit
‘The noddle of the God of wit.
| The Poetical Works of the Ingenious and Learned William Meston | |