The Poems of Charles Sackville Sixth Earl of Dorset: Edited by Brice Harris |
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II. |
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V. Friends and Acquaintances
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1 | VI. |
VII. |
The Poems of Charles Sackville | ||
87
V. Friends and Acquaintances
89
On Dolly Chamberlain A Sempstress in the New Exchange
Dolly's beauty and artHave so hemm'd in my heart
That I cannot resist the charm:
In revenge I will stitch
Up the hole next her breech
With a needle as long as my arm.
90
A Song on Black Bess
91
Methinks the poor town has been troubled too long
With Phyllis and Chloris in every song,
By fools who at once can both love and despair,
And will never leave calling them cruel and fair:
Which justly provokes me in rhyme to express
The truth that I know of bonny Black Bess.
With Phyllis and Chloris in every song,
By fools who at once can both love and despair,
And will never leave calling them cruel and fair:
Which justly provokes me in rhyme to express
The truth that I know of bonny Black Bess.
This Bess of my heart, this Bess of my soul,
Has a skin white as milk and hair black as coal;
She's plump, yet with ease you may span round her waist,
But her round swelling thighs can scarce be embrac'd:
Her belly is soft, not a word of the rest,
But I know what I think when I drink to the best.
Has a skin white as milk and hair black as coal;
She's plump, yet with ease you may span round her waist,
But her round swelling thighs can scarce be embrac'd:
Her belly is soft, not a word of the rest,
But I know what I think when I drink to the best.
The plowman and squire, the arranter clown,
At home she subdu'd in her paragon gown;
But now she adorns the boxes and pit,
And the proudest town gallants are forc'd to submit.
All hearts fall a leaping whenever she comes,
And beat day and night like my Lord Craven's drums.
At home she subdu'd in her paragon gown;
But now she adorns the boxes and pit,
And the proudest town gallants are forc'd to submit.
All hearts fall a leaping whenever she comes,
And beat day and night like my Lord Craven's drums.
92
I dare not permit her to come to Whitehall,
For she'd outshine the ladies, paint, jewels, and all.
If a lord shou'd but whisper his love in the crowd,
She'd sell him a bargain and laugh out aloud;
Then the Queen, overhearing what Betty did say,
Would send Mr. Roper to take her away.
For she'd outshine the ladies, paint, jewels, and all.
If a lord shou'd but whisper his love in the crowd,
She'd sell him a bargain and laugh out aloud;
Then the Queen, overhearing what Betty did say,
Would send Mr. Roper to take her away.
But to those that have had my dear Bess in their arms,
She's gentle and knows how to soften her charms;
And to every beauty can add a new grace,
Having learn'd how to lisp and to trip in her pace;
And with head on one side and a languishing eye,
To kill us by looking as if she would die.
She's gentle and knows how to soften her charms;
And to every beauty can add a new grace,
Having learn'd how to lisp and to trip in her pace;
And with head on one side and a languishing eye,
To kill us by looking as if she would die.
93
Epitaph on Mrs. Lundy
94
That never lay silent or quiet before,
For her brain was still working, her tongue was still prating,
And the pulse of her heart continually beating,
To the utmost extremes of loving and hating.
Her reason and humor were always at strife,
But yet she perform'd all the duties of life,
For she was a true friend and a pretty good wife.
So indulgent a mother that no one could say
Whether Minty or Patty did rule or obey,
For the government changed some ten times a day.
At the hour of her birth some lucky star gave her
Wit and beauty enough to have lasted for ever;
But fortune, still froward when nature is kind,
A narrow estate maliciously join'd
To a very great genius and a generous mind.
Her body was made of that superfine clay,
Which is apt to be brittle for want of allay;
And when, without show of outward decay,
It began by degrees to molder away,
Her soul, then too busy on some foreign affair,
Of its own pretty dwelling took so little care,
That the tenement fell for want of repair.
Far be from hence both the fool and the knave,
But let all who pretend to be witty or brave,
Whether gen'rous friend or amorous slave,
Contribute some tears to water her grave.
95
On the Young Heiress of Lincoln's Inn Fields
96
The dainty young heiress of Lincoln's Inn Fields,
Brisk, beautiful, wealthy, and witty,
To the power of love so unwillingly yields,
That, 'tis fear'd, she'll unpeople the city.
Brisk, beautiful, wealthy, and witty,
To the power of love so unwillingly yields,
That, 'tis fear'd, she'll unpeople the city.
The sparks and the beaux all languish and die,
Yet, after the conquest of many,
One little good marksman that aims with one eye
May wound her heart deeper than any.
Yet, after the conquest of many,
One little good marksman that aims with one eye
May wound her heart deeper than any.
97
Pindaric Petition to the Lords in Council
99
Should you order Tom Brown
To be whip'd about town
For a scurvy lampoon,
Grave Southern and Crown,
Their pens wou'd lay down.
Even Durfey himself and such merry fellows
That put their whole trust in tunes and trangdilloes
May hang up their harps and themselves on the willows,
For if poets are punish'd for libelling trash,
John Dryden at sixty may yet fear the lash.
No pension nor praise,
Much birch without bays,
These are not the right ways
Our fancies to raise
To the writing of plays,
And prologues so witty,
That jerk at the city,
And now and then hit
Some spark in the pit
So hard and so pat
'Till he hides with his hat
His monstrous cravat.
The pulpit alone
Can never preach down
The fops of this town.
Then pardon Tom Brown,
And let him write on.
But if you had rather convert the poor sinner,
His foul, railing mouth may be stop'd with a dinner.
Give him clothes to his back, some meat, and much drink,
100
And your petitioner shall never pray, write, nor think.
101
On Mrs. Anne Roche when she Lost Sir John Daws
102
Little Nancy sat mumping and sullen all night.
Tho' the jackdaw escap'd her, the loss is not great;
She may yet catch a woodcock, and that's better meat.
The Poems of Charles Sackville | ||