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Show 2$8 ESOP. for't. Thus I liv'd, and I flourifh'd, till he ficken'd and dy'd ; but e'errhe was cold in his Grave, his Creditors plunder'd m y Houfe. But what pity it was to fee Fellows with dirty Shoes come into m y beft Rooms, and touch m y Hangings with their filthy Fingers ! You won't blame me, Sir, if with all m y Courage I weep at this fenfible part of m y Misfortune. Efop. A very fad Story truly ! Forg. But now, Sir, to m y Bufinefs. Having been inform'd this Morning, That the King has appointed a great Sum of Money for the Marriage of young W o m en who have liv'd well, and are fallen to decay, I am come to acquaint you I have two (trapping Daughters juft fit for the Matter, and to defire you'll help 'em to Portions out of the King's Bounty ; that they mayn't whine and pine, and be eaten up with the Green-flcknefs, as half the young W o m e n in the T o w n are, or wou'd be, if there were not more Helps for a Difeafe than one. This, Sir, is m y Bufinefs. Efop. And this, Madam, is m y Anfwer. A crawling Toad, all fpeckled o'er, Vain, gaudy, painted, patch'd, • . a Whore$ Seeing a well-fed Ox hard by, Regards him with an envious Eye, And (as the Poets tell) Ye Gods I cannot bare't, quoth fhe% I'll burfi, or be as big as he, And fo began to fiwell. Her Friends and Kindred round her camey They fhew'd her flje was much to blame. The thing was out of reach. She told 'em they were bufiy Folks, And when her Husband wou'd have fpolee, She bid him kifs her Br , With that they all e'en gave her o*ery And fhe perfifled as before^ Till with a deal of flrife She fiwell'd at laft fo much her Spleen, She burfi like one that we have feen, Who was a Scrivener's Wife. This E S 0 P.^~ 2$9 This, Widow, I take to be your Cafe, and that of a great many others; for this is an Age where moft People get Falls by clambering too high, to reach at what they fhould not do. The Shoemakers's Wife reduces her Husband to a Cobler, by endeavouring to be as fpruce as the Taylor's: The Taylor's brings hers to a Botcher, by going as fine as the Mercer's *. The Mercer's lowers hers to a Foreman, by perking up to the Merchant's; The Merchant's wears hers to a Broker,by ftrutting up to Quality : And Quality bring theirs to nothing, by ftriving to out-do one another. If W o m e n were humbler, Men wou'd be honefter. Pride brings Want, Want makes Rogues, Rogues come to be hang'd, and the Devil alone's the Gainer. G o your ways home, W o m a n ; and as your Husband maintain'd you by his Pen, maintain your felf by your Needle ; put your great Girls to Service, Im-ployment will keep 'em honeft ; much Work, and plain Diet, will cure the Green-ficknefs as well as a Husband. Forg. W h y , you pitiful Pigmy, preaching, canting, Pickthank; you little, forry, crooked, dry, withered Eunuch, do you know that Efop. I know that I'm fo deform'd youhant Wit e-nough to defcribe m e ; but I have this good quality, That a foolifh W o m a n can never make m e angry. Forg. Can't fhe fo ! I'll try that, I will. [She falls upon him, holds his Hands, and boxes his Ears. Efip. Help, help, help. Enter Servants. She runs off, they after her. ^ Efop. Nay, e'en let her go Jet her g o - - - don t bring her back again I'm for making^a Bridge o Gold for m y Enemy to retreat upon 1 m quite out of breath-- A terrible W o m a n , I proteft. t Enter a Country Gentleman drunk, in a hunting Drefs, with a Huntfman, Groom, Faulkner, and other Servants; one leading a couple of Hounds another Greyhounds, a third *$*™^*l™%™n Gun upon his Shoulder, the Faulkner a Hawk apon ci^lfauxfhaux, haux, haux haux:Joular, there Boy, Joular, Joular, Tinker, Pedlar, Mifs, Mifs, Mgfr |