THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDEN FOUNDATIONS.

J. Wale delin

CMosley Soulp.

Ye sovereign Wives! give ear and understand, ye speed and exercise Command.

Thus shall

Wife of Bath.

THE

WIFE of BATH.

FROM

CHAUCER.

EHOLD the woes of matrimonial life, And hear with rev'rence an experienc'd wife! To dear-bought wisdom give the credit due, And think, for once, a woman tells you true. In all these trials I have borne a part, I was myself the scourge that caus'd the smart ; For, fince fifteen, in triumph have I led Five captive husbands from the church to bed.

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C

Christ faw a wedding once, the Scripture fays, And saw but one, 'tis thought, in all his days; 10 Whence fome infer, whose conscience is too nice, No pious Christian ought to marry twice.

But let them read, and folve me, if they can, The words addrefs'd to the Samaritan :

T

Five times in lawful wedlock fhe was join'd; 15 And fure the certain ftint was ne'er defin'd.

Encrease and multiply, was heav'n's command, And that's a text I clearly understand. This too, "Let men their fires and mothers leave, σε And to their dearer wives for ever cleave." 20 More wives than one by Solomon were try'd, Or else the wisest of mankind's bely'd. I've had myself full many a merry fit :; And truft in heav'n I may have many yet. For when my transitory spouse, unkind, Shall die, and leave his woeful wife behind, I'll take the next good Christian I can find. Paul, knowing one could never ferve, our turn, Declar'd 'twas better far to wed than burn. There's danger in affembling fire and tow; 30 I grant'em that, and what it means you know. The fame Apostle too has elsewhere own'd, No precept for Virginity he found:

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"Tis but a counsel-and we women still Take which we like, the counfel, or our will. 35 I envy not their blifs, if he or she

Think fit to live in perfect chastity;

· Pure let them be, and free from taint or vice;

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I, for a few flight fpots, am not so nice.

Heav'n calls us diff'rent ways, on these bestows
One proper gift, another grants to thofe : 41
Not every man's oblig'd to fell his ftoré,
And give up all his fubftance to the poor;
Such as are perfect, may, I can't deny;
But, by your leaves, Divines, fo am not I.

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Full many a Saint, fince first the world began,
Liv'd an unfpotted maid, in fpite of man:
Let fuch (a God's name) with fine wheat be fed,
And let us honest wives eat barley bread.
For me, I'll keep the poft affign'd by heav'n, 50
And use the copious talent it has givʼn :
Let my good fpoufe pay tribute, do me right,
And keep an equal reck'ning ev'ry night:
His proper body is not his, but mine;

For fo faid Paul, and Paul's a found divine. 55

Know then, of those five hufbands I have had,
Three were juft tolerable, two were bad.
The three were old, but rich and fond befide,
And toil'd most piteously to please their bride :
But fince their wealth (the best they had) was
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mine,

The reft, without much lofs, I could refign.
Sure to be lov'd, I took no pains to please,
Yet had more Pleasure far than they had Ease.

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