Page:Royal riddle book.pdf/17

 To the desponding comfort give,

And make the statesman bold;

The balm I yield, if well apply'd,

Extends its friendly influence wide,

And aids both young and old.

While tears drop down, behold how gay,

How beautiful my dress;

Not Flora in the month of May

Does greater joy express.

As on her the short liv’d pride,

Sol’s friendly beams bestow,

So I my charms, extended wide,

To the same patron owe;

The elements are all combin'd

To form my transient beauty,

And I as God himself design’d,

Do my appointed duty.

Thus plac'd aloft to catch the eye,

Like beacon on a hill,

I tell not who comes to destroy,

Yet obviate future ill.

Tho’ big my belly, long my nose,

And with one arm I strut;

I make the fair their foes expose,

And keep my own mouth shut.

Before me they their secrets tell,

The news of all the day,

And for my silence I'm fed well,

But empty sent away.

Yet tho' they love my company,

And seem to me so civil;

Sometimes you’d swear they thought that I

Had dealings with the devil.

Emblem of youth and innocence,

With walls enclos’d for my defence,