[Footnote 4:    "Hic murus aheneus esto, Nil conseire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa."      HOR., Epist. 1, I, 60.] 

  

  

       WRITTEN IN A LADY'S IVORY TABLE-BOOK, 1698     

      Peruse my leaves thro' ev'ry part, And think thou seest my owner's heart, Scrawl'd o'er with trifles thus, and quite As hard, as senseless, and as light; Expos'd to ev'ry coxcomb's eyes, But hid with caution from the wise. Here you may read, "Dear charming saint;"      Beneath, "A new receipt for paint:"      Here, in beau-spelling, "Tru tel deth;"      There, in her own, "For an el breth:"      Here, "Lovely nymph, pronounce my doom!"      There, "A safe way to use perfume:"      Here, a page fill'd with billets-doux; On t'other side, "Laid out for shoes"—      "Madam, I die without your grace"—      "Item, for half a yard of lace."      Who that had wit would place it here, For ev'ry peeping fop to jeer? To think that your brains' issue is Exposed to th'excrement of his, In pow'r of spittle and a clout, Whene'er he please, to blot it out; And then, to heighten the disgrace, Clap his own nonsense in the place. Whoe'er expects to hold his part In such a book, and such a heart, If he be wealthy, and a fool, Is in all points the fittest tool; Of whom it may be justly said, He's a gold pencil tipp'd with lead. 

  

  

       MRS. FRANCES HARRIS'S PETITION, 1699     

      This, the most humorous example of vers de société in the English language, well illustrates the position of a parson in a family of distinction at that period.—W. E. B. 

      To their Excellencies the Lords Justices of Ireland,[1]        The humble petition of Frances Harris, Who must starve and die a maid if it miscarries; Humbly sheweth, that I went to warm myself in Lady Betty's[2] chamber, because I was cold; And I had in a purse seven pounds, four shillings, and sixpence,        (besides farthings) in money and gold; So because I had been buying things for my lady last night, I was resolved to tell my money, to see if it was right. Now, you must know, because my trunk has a very bad lock, Therefore all the money I have, which, God knows, is a very small stock, I keep in my pocket, ty'd about my middle, 

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