rast in these lines, of thy
and me, living and dying, and thine and mine. Ah! a prize upon it! Dick,
after all, was the man. Ecod! he rounded it off. But, to return to this
unhappy young man, would you believe it, he tossed up his nose at my
friendly proposal, and gabbled something in Greek, which is not worth
repeating. The case was this, my dear sir, he was out of humour at the
neglect of the world. He thought the poets of the age were jealous
of his genius, and strove to crush it accordingly, while the rest
of mankind wanted taste sufficient to discern it. For my own part, I
profess myself one of these; and, as the clown in Billy Shakespeare says
of the courtier's oath, had I sworn by the doctor's genius, that the
pancakes were naught, they might have been for all that very good, yet
shouldn't I have been forsworn. Let that be as it will, he retired from
town in great dudgeon, and set up his rest near a hill in Derbyshire,
with two tops, resembling Parnassus, and a well at the bottom, which he
had christened Hyp-o'-the-Green. Egad! if he stays in that habitation,
'tis my opinion he'll soon grow green with the hip indeed. He'll be glad
of an opportunity to return to the fleshpots of Egypt, and pay his court
to the slighted Queen Cleopatra. Ha! well remembered, by this light!
you shall know, my good sir, that this same Egyptian princess has been
courted by so many gallants of taste, that, as I hope to live, I found
myself in some sort of dilemma, because in parting with her to one, I
should have disobliged all his rivals. Now a man would not choose to
give offence to his friends, at least I lay it down as a maxim to avoid
the smallest appearance of ingratitude. Perhaps I may be in the wrong.
But every man has his way. For this reason, I proposed to all the
candidates, that a lottery or raffle should be set on foot, by which
every individual would have an equal chance for her good graces, and
the prize be left to the decision of fortune. The scheme was mightily
relished, and the terms being such a trifle as half a guinea, the whole
town crowded into my house, in order to subscribe. But there I was their
humble servant. 'Gentlemen, you must have a little patience till my
own particular friends are served.' Among that number, I do myself the
honour to consider Mr. Pickle. Here is a copy of the proposals; and, if
the list should be adorned with his name, I hope, notwithstanding his
merited success among the young ladies, he