Page:Tea, a poem.pdf/13

13 self-satisfied struttings of wealthy gentlemen, with their brains in their pockets; nor amusing conceits, and monky, divertisements of smart young gentlemen with no brains at all. On the contrary, the young ladies seated themselves, demurly in their rush bottomed chairs, and knit their own woollen stockings; nor ever opened their lips, excepting to say yah Mynheer or yah ya Vrouw, to any question that was asked them; behaving in all things, like decent well educated damsels. As to the gentlemen, each of them tranquilly smoked his pipe, and seemed lost in contemplation of the blue and white tiles, with which the fire places were decorated; wherin sundry passages of Scripture were piously pourtrayed: Tobet and his dog figured to great advantage; Haman swung conspicuously on his gibbet; and Jonah appeared most manfully bouncing out of the whale, like Harlequin through a barrel of fire.

The parties broke up without noise and without confusion. They were carried home by their own carriages, that is to say, by the vehicles nature had provided them, except such of the wealthy as could afford to keep a waggon. The gentlemen gallantly attended their fair ones to their res-