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[Illustration]
FABLE [25] XXV.
The Scold and the Parrot.
1 The husband thus reprov'd his wife.
2 Who deals in slander, lives in strife.
3 Art thou the herald of disgrace,
4 Denouncing war to all thy race?
5 Can nothing quell thy thunder's rage,
6 Which spares nor friend, nor sex, nor age?
[Page 85]7 That vixen tongue of yours, my dear,
8 Alarms our neighbours far and near;
9 Good Gods! 'tis like a rolling river,
10 That murm'ring flows, and flows for ever!
11 Ne'er tir'd, perpetual discord sowing!
12 Like fame, it gathers strength by going.
13 Heighday! the flippant tongue replys,
14 How solemn is the fool! how wise!
15 Is nature's choicest gift debarr'd?
16 Nay, frown not; for I will be heard.
17 Women of late are finely ridden,
18 A parrot's privilege forbidden!
19 You praise his talk, his squawling song;
20 But wives are always in the wrong.
21 Now reputations flew in pieces
22 Of mothers, daughters, aunts and neices,
23 She ran the parrot's language o'er;
24 Bawd, hussy, drunkard, slattern, whore,
25 On all the sex she vents her fury,
26 Trys and condemns without a jury.
27 At once the torrent of her words
28 Alarm'd cat, monkey, dogs and birds;
29 All join their forces to confound her,
30 Puss spits, the monkey chatters round her,
31 The yelping cur her heels assaults,
32 The magpye blabs out all her faults;
33 Poll, in the uproar, from his cage,
34 With this rebuke out-scream'd her rage.
35 A parrot is for talking priz'd,
36 But prattling women are despis'd;
37 She, who attacks another's honour,
38 Draws ev'ry living thing upon her.
39 Think, madam, when you stretch your lungs,
40 That all your neighbours too have tongues;
41 One slander must ten thousand get,
42 The world with interest pays the debt.
Source edition
Gay, John, 1685-1732. FABLES. By Mr. GAY. London: Printed for J. Tonson and J. Watts, MDCCXXVII., 1727, pp. 84-86. [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 [16] XVI. The Pin and the Needle. ()
- 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 [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. ()