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Gave them a twisted form vermicular,

And o'er the feat, with plenteous wadding stuff'd,
Induc'd a fplendid cover, green and blue,
Yellow and red, of tap'stry richly wrought
And woven close, or needle-work fublime.
There might ye fee the piony spread wide,
The full-blown rofe, the fhepherd and his lass,
Lap-dog and lambkin with black staring eyes,
And parrots with twin cherries in their beak.

Now came the cane from India, fmooth and bright With Nature's varnish; fever'd into stripes

That interlac'd each other, these supplied

Of texture firm a lattice-work, that brac'd
The new machine, and it became a chair.
But restless was the chair; the back erect
Distress'd the weary loins, that felt no ease;
The flipp'ry feat betray'd the fliding part
That prefs'd it, and the feet hung dangling down,
Anxious in vain to find the distant floor.

These for the rich: the reft, whom fate had plac'd

In modest mediocrity, content

With base materials, fat on well-tann'd hides,
Obdurate and unyielding, glaffy fmooth,

With here and there a tuft of crimson yarn,
Or fcarlet crewel, in the cushion fixt;

If cushion might be call'd, what harder seem'd
Than the firm oak of which the frame was form'd.

No want of timber then was felt or fear'd

In Albion's happy ifle. The umber ftood
Pond'rous and fixt by its own maffy weight.
But elbows ftill were wanting; thefe, fome say,
An alderman of Cripplegate contriv'd;

And some ascribe th' invention to a prieft
Burly and big, and ftudious of his ease.
But, rude at firft, and not with easy slope
Receding wide, they prefs'd against the ribs,
And bruis'd the fide; and, elevated high,
Taught the rais'd fhoulders to invade the ears.
Long time elaps'd or e'er our rugged fires

Complain'd, though incommodiously pent in,

And ill at eafe behind. The ladies firft
'Gan murmur, as became the fofter fex.
Ingenious fancy, never better pleas'd
Than when employ'd t' accommodate the fair,
Heard the fweet moan with pity, and devis'd
The foft fettee; one elbow at each end,

And in the midft an elbow, it receiv'd,
United yet divided, twain at once.

So fit two kings of Brentford on one throne;
And fo two citizens who take the air,

Clofe pack'd, and smiling, in a chaife and one.
But relaxation of the languid frame,

By foft recumbency of outstretch'd limbs,
Was blifs referv'd for happier days. So flow
The growth of what is excellent; fo hard
T' attain perfection in this nether world.
Thus first neceffity invented ftools,
Convenience next fuggefted elbow-chairs,
And luxury th' accomplish'd SOFA last.

The nurfe fleeps fweetly, hir'd to watch the fick, Whom fnoring she disturbs. As fweetly he

Who quits the coach-box at the midnight hour
To fleep within the carriage more fecure,
His legs depending at the open door.
Sweet fleep enjoys the curate in his desk,
The tedious rector drawling o'er his head;
And sweet the clerk below. But neither sleep
Of lazy nurse, who fnores the fick man dead,
Nor his who quits the box at midnight hour
To flumber in the carriage more fecure,
Nor fleep enjoy'd by curate in his desk,
Nor yet the dozings of the clerk, are sweet,
Compar'd with the repofe the soFA yields.

Oh may I live exempted (while I live Guiltless of pamper'd appetite obscene) From pangs arthritic, that infeft the toe Of libertine excefs. The sOFA fuits

The gouty limb, 'tis true; but gouty limb,

Though on a SOFA, may I never feel:

For I have lov'd the rural walk through lanes Of graffy fwarth, clofe cropt by nibbling sheep, And skirted thick with intertexture firm

Of thorny boughs; have lov'd the rural walk
O'er hills, through valleys, and by rivers' brink,
E'er fince a truant boy I pafs'd my bounds

T' enjoy a ramble on the banks of Thames;
And still remember, nor without regret
Of hours that forrow fince has much endear'd,
How oft, my flice of pocket ftore confum❜d,
Still hung'ring, pennyless and far from home,
I fed on scarlet hips and ftony haws,
Or blushing crabs, or berries, that imboss
The bramble, black as jet, or floes austere.
Hard fare! but fuch as boyish appetite
Difdains not; nor the palate, undeprav'd
By culinary arts, unfav'ry deems.

No SOFA then awaited my return;

Nor SOFA then I needed. Youth repairs

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