IN THE DAYS OF MY GREAT GRANDMAMA.
I
In the days of my great Grandmama, I've been told,
There were persons of fashion and taste,
Who, in dresses as stout as chain armour of old,
The parties of Ranelagh grac'd.
How high were their heads, and how high were their heels,
And how high were their notions and ways!
They mov'd in propriety's round like the wheels
Of a warranted watch, in the days
Of my great Grandmama!
II
Fashion then was so dull you could scarcely discern
The minute ebb and flow of her tides:
And a dowager's dress, though unturn'd, serv'd in turn
Three or four generations of brides.
Like the family jewels, the family gown
Was reserv'd for their Gala displays,
And a ruffled old lady look'd placidly down
Upon ruffled young girls, in the days
Of my great Grandmama!
III
Oh! the men, who for these female paragons sigh'd,
Were unlike those who pester us now;
They approach'd with a smile, and a sink, and a slide,
And a minuet step and a bow.
They were lac'd and embroider'd, and powder'd, and curl'd,
Like the men that we see in the plays;
And 'tis certain there's nothing so grand in the world,
Or so sweet as there was in the days
Of my great Grandmama!
