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Poems, moral and descriptive

By the late Richard Jago ... (Prepared for the press, and improved by the author, before his death.) To which is added, some account of the life and writings of Mr. Jago

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On Mr. Samuel Cooke's POEMS.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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177

On Mr. Samuel Cooke's POEMS.

WRITTEN IN THE YEAR 1749.

Indeed, Master Cooke!
You have made such a book,
As the learned in pastry admire:
But other wits joke
To see such a smoke
Without any visible fire.
What a nice bill of fare,
Of whatever is rare,
And approv'd by the critics of taste!
Not a classical bit,
Ev'ry fancy to hit,
But here in due order is plac'd.

178

Yet, for all this parade,
You are but a dull blade,
And your lines are all scragged, and raw;
And tho' you've hack'd, and have hew'd,
And have squeez'd, and have stew'd,
Your forc'd-meat isn't all worth a straw.
Tho' your satire you spit,
'Tisn't season'd a bit,
And your puffs are as heavy as lead;
Call each dish what you will,
Boil, roast, hash, or grill,
Yet still it is all a calve's-head.
I don't mind your huffing,
For you've put such vile stuff in,
I protest I'm as sick as a dog;
Were you leaner, or fatter,
I'd not mince the matter,
You're not fit to dress Æsop a frog.

179

Then, good master Slice!
Shut up shop, if your wise,
And th'unwary no longer trepan;
Such advice indeed is hard,
And may stick in your gizzard,
But digest it as well as you can.