Of wisdom he's empty, but full of conceit;

He paints and perfumes while he rots with the scab;

'Tis a beau you may swear by his sense and his gait ; He boasts of a beauty and lies with a drab.

SIR,

A LETTER TO DR HELSHAM.

Pray discruciate what follows.

THE dullest beast, and gentleman's liquor,
When young is often due to the vicar."

The dullest of beasts, and swine's delight,
Make up a bird very swift of flight."

The dullest beast when high in stature,
And another of royal nature,

For breeding is a useful creature. 3

The dullest beast, and a party distress'd,
When too long, is bad as best. *

The dullest beast and the saddle it wears,
Is good for partridge not for hares. 5

I A swine.
s A spaniel.

VOL. XV.

2 A swallow. 3 A stallion.

с

* A sail.

The dullest beast and kind voice of a cat,
Will make a horse go, though he be not fat."

The dullest of beasts and of birds in the air,
Is that by which all Irishmen swear.7

The dullest beast and fam'd college for Teagues,
Is a person very unfit for intrigues. 8

The dullest beast and a cobler's tool,
With a boy that is only fit for school,
In summer is very pleasant and cool.'

The dullest beast and that which you kiss,
May break a limb of master or miss. 1°

Of serpent kind, and what at distance kills,
Poor mistress Dingley oft hath felt its bills."

The dullest beast, and eggs unsound,
Without it I rather would walk on the ground."*

The dullest beast, and what covers a house,
Without it a writer is not worth a louse.13

The dullest beast, and scandalous vermin,
Of roast or boil'd, to the hungry is charming. 14

The dullest beast, and what's cover'd with crust, There's nobody but a fool that would trust. '

The dullest beast, and mending highways,
Is to a horse an evil disease. 16

The dullest beast and a hole in the ground,
Will dress a dinner worth five pound."7

The dullest beast, and what doctors pretend,
The cookmaid often has by the end. '8

The dullest beast and fish for lent.

May give you a blow you'll for forever repent.

The dullest beast, and a shameful jeer,
Without it a lady should never appear.

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19

Wednesday night.

I writ all these before I went to bed. Pray explain them for me, because I cannot do it

PROBATUR ALITER.

A long-ear'd beast, and a field-house for cattle,
Among the coals doth often rattle.'

A long-eared beast, a bird that prates,
The bridegrooms' first gift to their mates,

16 A spavin. 20 A smock

17 A spit.

18 A skewer.

19 Assault.

I A shovel.

Is by all pious Christians thought,
In clergymen the greatest fault."

A long-eared beast, and woman of Endor,
If your wife be a scold, that will mend her.

With a long-eared beast, and medicines use,
Cooks make their fowl look tight and spruce. 4

A long-eared beast, and holy fable,
Strengthens the shoes of half the rabble. "

A long-eared beast, and Rhenish wine,
Lies in the lap of ladies fine. "

A long-eared beast, and Flanders College,
Is Dr T―l to my knowledge.

A long-eared beast, and building knight,
Censorious people do in spite. 8

A long-eared beast and bird of night,
We sinners are too apt to slight. 9

9

A long-eared beast, and shameful vermin,
A judge will eat, though clad in ermine.i

A long-eared beast, and Irish cart,
Can leave a mark, and give a smart."1

* Aspiring.
2

3 A switch.

4 A skewer. 6 A shock. 7 A sloven. who built the parliament19 A slice. 11 A scar.

5 A sparable; a small nail in a shoe. 8 Asperse, (Pearce was an architect house, Dublin.) 9 A soul.

A long-eared beast and a sputt'ring old Whig,
I wish he were in it, and dancing a jig. 13

A long-eared beast, and liquor to write,
Is a damnable smell both morning and night. '4

A long-eared beast, and the child of a sheep,
At whist they will make a desperate sweep. 15

14

A beast long-eared, and till midnight you stay,
Will cover a house much better than clay.

16

A long-eared beast, and the drink you love best," You call him a sloven in earnest for jest. 17

A long-eared beast, and the sixteenth letter,
I'd not look at all unless I look't better. 18

A long-eared beast give me, and eggs unsound, Or else I will not ride one inch of ground.1

A long-eared beast, another name for jeer,
To ladies' skins there nothing comes so near."

A long-eared beast, and kind noise of a cat,
Is useful in journies, take notice of that."1

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