out of the cold iron, be often in the dumps, and frig
and wriggle it. He would flay the fox, say the
ape’s paternoster, return to his sheep, and
turn the hogs to the hay. He would beat the dogs
before the lion, put the plough before the oxen, and
claw where it did not itch. He would pump one
to draw somewhat out of him, by griping all would hold
fast nothing, and always eat his white bread first.
He shoed the geese, kept a self-tickling to make
himself laugh, and was very steadable in the kitchen:
made a mock at the gods, would cause sing Magnificat
at matins, and found it very convenient so to do.
He would eat cabbage, and shite beets,—knew
flies in a dish of milk, and would make them lose their
feet. He would scrape paper, blur parchment,
then run away as hard as he could. He would
pull at the kid’s leather, or vomit up his dinner,
then reckon without his host. He would beat
the bushes without catching the birds, thought the
moon was made of green cheese, and that bladders are
lanterns. Out of one sack he would take two
moultures or fees for grinding; would act the ass’s
part to get some bran, and of his fist would make a
mallet. He took the cranes at the first leap,
and would have the mail-coats to be made link after
link. He always looked a given horse in the mouth,
leaped from the cock to the ass, and put one ripe
between two green. By robbing Peter he paid
Paul, he kept the moon from the wolves, and hoped to
catch larks if ever the heavens should fall.
He did make of necessity virtue, of such bread such
pottage, and cared as little for the peeled as for
the shaven. Every morning he did cast up his
gorge, and his father’s little dogs eat out
of the dish with him, and he with them. He would
bite their ears, and they would scratch his nose—he
would blow in their arses, and they would lick his
chaps.
But hearken, good fellows, the spigot ill betake you,
and whirl round your brains, if you do not give ear!
This little lecher was always groping his nurses
and governesses, upside down, arsiversy, topsyturvy,
harri bourriquet, with a Yacco haick, hyck gio! handling
them very rudely in jumbling and tumbling them to
keep them going; for he had already begun to exercise
the tools, and put his codpiece in practice.
Which codpiece, or braguette, his governesses did
every day deck up and adorn with fair nosegays, curious
rubies, sweet flowers, and fine silken tufts, and very
pleasantly would pass their time in taking you know
what between their fingers, and dandling it, till
it did revive and creep up to the bulk and stiffness
of a suppository, or street magdaleon, which is a hard
rolled-up salve spread upon leather. Then did
they burst out in laughing, when they saw it lift
up its ears, as if the sport had liked them.
One of them would call it her little dille, her staff
of love, her quillety, her faucetin, her dandilolly.
Another, her peen, her jolly kyle, her bableret, her
membretoon, her quickset imp: another again,