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[Illustration]
FABLE [16] XVI.
The Pin and the Needle.
1 A Pin who long had serv'd a Beauty,
2 Proficient in the toilette's duty,
3 Had form'd her sleeve, confin'd her hair,
4 Or giv'n her knot a smarter air,
5 Now nearest to her heart was plac'd,
6 Now in her manteau's tail disgrac'd;
7 But could she partial fortune blame,
8 Who saw her lovers serv'd the same?
9 At length from all her honours cast,
10 Through various turns of life she past;
11 Now glitter'd on a taylor's arm,
12 Now kept a beggar's infant warm,
13 Now, rang'd within a miser's coat,
14 Contributes to his yearly groat,
15 Now, rais'd again from low approach,
16 She visits in the doctor's coach;
17 Here, there, by various fortune tost,
18 At last in Gresham hall was lost.
19 Charm'd with the wonders of the show,
20 On ev'ry side, above, below,
21 She now of this or that enquires,
22 What least was understood admires;
23 'Tis plain, each thing so struck her mind,
24 Her head's of virtuoso kind.
25 And pray what's this and this, dear sir?
26 A needle, says th' interpreter.
27 She knew the name. And thus the fool
28 Addrest her as a taylor's tool.
29 A needle with that filthy stone,
30 Quite idle, all with rust o'ergrown!
31 You better might employ your parts,
32 And aid the sempstress in her arts.
33 But tell me how the friendship grew
34 Between that paultry flint and you?
35 Friend, says the Needle, cease to blame;
36 I follow real worth and fame.
37 Know'st thou the loadstone's power and art,
38 That virtue virtues can impart?
39 Of all his talents I partake.
40 Who then can such a friend forsake?
41 'Tis I direct the pilot's hand
42 To shun the rocks and treach'rous sand;
43 By me the distant world is known,
44 And either India is our own.
45 Had I with milliners been bred,
46 What had I been? the guide of thread,
47 And drudg'd as vulgar needles do,
48 Of no more consequence than you.
Source edition
Gay, John, 1685-1732. FABLES. By Mr. GAY. London: Printed for J. Tonson and J. Watts, MDCCXXVII., 1727, pp. 53-55. [14],173,[1]p.: ill.; 4°. (ESTC T13818)
Editorial principles
Typography, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation have been cautiously modernized. The source of the text is given and all significant editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. 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 John Gay
- [FABLE ] INTRODUCTION TO THE FABLES. The Shepherd and the Philosopher. ()
- FABLE [01] I. The Lyon, the Tyger, and the Traveller. ()
- FABLE [02] II. The Spaniel and the Cameleon. ()
- FABLE [03] III. The Mother, the Nurse, and the Fairy. ()
- FABLE [04] IV. The Eagle, and the Assembly of Animals. ()
- FABLE [05] V. The Wild Boar and the Ram. ()
- FABLE [06] VI. The Miser and Plutus. ()
- FABLE [07] VII. The Lyon, the Fox, and the Geese. ()
- FABLE [08] VIII. The Lady and the Wasp. ()
- FABLE [09] IX. The Bull and the Mastiff. ()
- FABLE [10] X. The Elephant and the Bookseller. ()
- FABLE [11] XI. The Peacock, the Turkey, and Goose. ()
- FABLE [12] XII. Cupid, Hymen, and Plutus. ()
- FABLE [13] XIII. The tame Stag. ()
- FABLE [14] XIV. The Monkey who had seen the World. ()
- FABLE [15] XV. The Philosopher and the Pheasants. ()
- FABLE [17] XVII. The Shepherd's Dog and the Wolf. ()
- FABLE [18] XVIII. The Painter who pleased No body and Every body. ()
- FABLE [19] XIX. The Lyon and the Cub. ()
- FABLE [20] XX. The Old Hen and the Cock. ()
- FABLE [21] XXI. The Rat-catcher and Cats. ()
- FABLE [22] XXII. The Goat without a beard. ()
- FABLE [23] XXIII. The Old Woman and her Cats. ()
- FABLE [24] XXIV. The Butterfly and the Snail. ()
- FABLE [25] XXV. The Scold and the Parrot. ()
- FABLE [26] XXVI. The Cur and the Mastiff. ()
- FABLE [27] XXVII. The Sick Man and the Angel. ()
- FABLE [28] XXVIII. The Persian, the Sun and the Cloud. ()
- FABLE [29] XXIX. The Fox at the point of death. ()
- FABLE [30] XXX. The Setting-dog and the Partridge. ()
- FABLE [31] XXXI. The Universal Apparition. ()
- FABLE [32] XXXII. The two Owls and the Sparrow. ()
- FABLE [33] XXXIII. The Courtier and Proteus. ()
- FABLE [34] XXXIV. The Mastiffs. ()
- FABLE [35] XXXV. The Barley-mow and the Dung-hill. ()
- FABLE [36] XXXVI. Pythagoras and the Countryman. ()
- FABLE [37] XXXVII. The Farmer's Wife and the Raven. ()
- FABLE [38] XXXVIII. The Turkey and the Ant. ()
- FABLE [39] XXXIX. The Father and Jupiter. ()
- FABLE [40] XL. The two Monkeys. ()
- FABLE [41] XLI. The Owl and the Farmer. ()
- FABLE [42] XLII. The Jugglers. ()
- FABLE [43] XLIII. The Council of Horses. ()
- FABLE [44] XLIV. The Hound and the Huntsman. ()
- FABLE [45] XLV. The Poet and the Rose. ()
- FABLE [46] XLVI. The Cur, the Horse, and the Shepherd's Dog. ()
- FABLE [47] XLVII. The Court of Death. ()
- FABLE [48] XLVIII. The Gardener and the Hog. ()
- FABLE [49] XLIX. The Man and the Flea. ()
- FABLE [50] L. The Hare and many Friends. ()