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And doting on her over whom he presides,
Wish to be, my dear Lucy, close by your fat sides!
Those sides, which you know are envelop'd in fat,
And are softer by far than the coat of my cat!

"Well, Lucy! the reason that I have so long
Stray'd away from the woman whose passion's so strong,
Is, simply, that business has push'd very hard
On your fervent and amorous" knight of the YARD!"
Indeed, my dear girl, you must now understand
I have scarce had the YARD ever out of my hand,
So much has my business oppress'd me of late,
And marr'd all the plans of this feverish pate;

And, perhaps, when we've married, yourself won't discard
The use of that excellent measure-the YARD!
Which, doubtless, when wielded by you, will improve,
Not only our trade in the linens-but love!
You know, my dear Lucy, full well what I mean,
And won't blush on reviewing the pleasures we've seen!
At present, my shopmen, though honest, perhaps,
Are but (as you well may conceive) "spoony chaps!"
Their want of address-of politeness-and sense,
Must prove, for my absence, my only defence,
And what with the ships, now discharging their freight,
Rve scarce got a moment to think of a mate,
Which I fully intend you shall be, when the weather
Will admit of our getting again CLOSE TOGETHER!
However, dear Lucy, all this will be over
Ere long-and your ardent, affectionate lover,
Will come to your bosom, both blessing and blest,
And DO ALL HE'S ABLE to set you at rest!

At present, you'll dream o the joy that's to come,
Aud concerning all that which IS OVER-BE MUM!

PETER CLOSE-STITCH.

W. Benbow, Printer, 9, Castle Street, Leicester Square, London

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THE PREVAILING

TASTE FOR PUGILISM,

FEATS OF ACTIVITY, AND BODILY VIGOUR.

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"Perfections that are placed in bones and nerves.' -CATO.

AMIDST the varieties and fluctuations which naturally occur in all human transactions, the vicissitudes that are equally apparent in matters of taste and amusement, ought also to furnish topics for discussion and curious speculation, as well as the more grave and important concerns of the busy world. It is a trite observation, and one that frequently admits of introduction and reference, that "extremes meet;" and, , however diversified the various objects that present themseves to our attention may be in their extent and nature, yet there runs a latent analogy, and a train of striking similarity between them. Thus it seems that periods of the utmost taste and refinement, and which Ram. Mag.-No. VII.

2 B

are distinguished also by the excesses of luxury and dissipation, appear frequently in their eccentric aberrations, to cast a hankering look after the scenes of savage life, and to envy the savage his bodily vigour and activity, and that speed and swiftness of foot that enables him to outstrip the deer and the various beasts of the field in the race. It was during the most brilliant æra of ancient Greece, when her poets and philosophers, as well as her painters and statuaries, approached so nearly to perfection in their pursuits. It was then that her pugilists and pedestrians were also most highly extolled and caressed, and that the skilful drivers of the chariot who gained the prizes at the Olympic Games, were nearly put on a level with the triumphant general and the victorious conqueror of states and kingdoms. It may be said, indeed, that virtues, like diamonds, are chiefly valued for their rarity and scarceness, and that the humble pebble, which is found at random in the quarry, or casually thrown on the sea-shore, is cast aside as possessed of no intrinsic value. It is certain, however, that, in times of general luxury and refinement, the universal taste for pleasure and enjoyment must prove prejudicial to the physical vigour of the human frame, not to speak of that softness and effeminacy with which the sons of rank and opulence are usually brought up. In. such a state of things, though personal elegance, as well as beauty of figure, is found in the greatest perfection amongst the refined and opulent, yet strength of frame, and muscular energy, may be said to belong almost exclusively to the humbler classes of the community.

It was otherwise in ancient Greece, as we learn from Pindar and several other writers, from whom it appears that the pugilists, the rivals in the foot-race, and the charioteers, were the most distingushed persons in their own times, and the principal characters in the communities to which they belonged. But it may likewise be observed, that what in modern times is termed fashion and gallantry, seems to have been totally unknown to the ancients, and that this sentiment

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