Dare I in such momentous points advise,
I should condemn the hoop's enormous size,
Of ills I speak by long experience found,
Oft' have I trod th' immeasurable round,
And mourn'd my shins bruis'd black with many a wound.
Nor shou'd the tighten'd stays, too straitly lac'd,
In whale-bone bondage gall the slender waist;
Nor waving lappets shou'd the dancing fair,
Nor ruffles edg'd with dangling fringes wear;
Oft' will the cobweb ornaments catch hold
On the approaching button rough with gold,
Nor force, nor art can then the bonds divide,
When once th' intangled Gordian knot is ty'd:
So the unhappy pair, by Hymen's pow'r,
Together join'd in some ill-fated hour,
The more they strive their freedom to regain,
The faster binds th' indissoluble chain.