[Page 175]

SOTO. A CHARACTER.

1 IN Soto's Bosom you may find
2 The Glimm'ring of a worthy Mind:
3 Tis but a faint and feeble Ray,
4 Imperfect as the dawning Day;
5 Yet were the jarring Passions tun'd,
6 And the wild Branches nicely prun'd,
7 The Soil from Thorns and Thistles clear,
8 Some latent Virtues might appear:
9 I'th' Morning catch him, (early tho'
10 Your Bird will else be flown, I trow,)
11 E'er he has reach'd the bowzing Can,
12 You'll find the Stamp of reas'ning Man:
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13 Then see the Wretch whom none can rule,
14 E'er Night a Mad-man and a Fool;
15 The witty Soto then you'll find,
16 Just level with the brutal Kind.
17 With crimson Face and winking Eyes,
18 That look like Woodcocks, mighty wise:
19 See streams a Current down his Chin,
20 From soft Tobacco lodg'd within;
21 Be pleas'd to steal a Glance or two,
22 But one may serve to make you —
23 He fain wou'd walk, but cannot stand,
24 And see a Palsy in his Hand;
25 And tho' his Throat has swallow'd down
26 Two Gallons of October brown,
27 His greedy Guts impatient roar,
28 And seem to call aloud for more:
29 More they shall have: But hark, within
30 Is heard a rude and lawless Din:
31 Wind, Ale, and Phlegm their Powers wage,
32 And Hickups call them to engage;
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33 And now, Ah now! incessant flows
34 The frothy Tide from Mouth and Nose:
35 No more is seen the cover'd Ground,
36 But a huge River floating round:
37 Down drops the Youth, his giddy Head
38 Falls easy on the liquid Bed:
39 So swam Achilles fierce and brave,
40 On angry Xanthus's swelling Wave;
41 And 'scap'd with being wet to th' Skin;
42 For Pallas held him up by th' Chin:
43 So Bacchus saves, by mighty Charms,
44 His helpless Devotee from Harms:
45 And Soto sleeps till break of Day,
46 Then shakes his Ears and walks away.

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Title (in Source Edition): SOTO. A CHARACTER.
Author: Mary Leapor
Themes:
Genres: character

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Leapor, Mrs. (Mary), 1722-1746. Poems upon several occasions: By Mrs. Leapor of Brackley in Northamptonshire. London: printed: and sold by J. Roberts, 1748, pp. 175-177. 15,[5],282p. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T127827; Foxon p. 413; OTA K101776.000) (Page images digitized from a copy at University of California Libraries.)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.

Other works by Mary Leapor