THE GREAT MILAN LEECH.

I. cech

"The common damn'd shun its society, and think themselves fiends less foul."

THE LEECH, or LEACH, is a reptile found chiefly in miry and filthy places, to which it is greatly attached—the more filthy the more fitting its nature:— It has been seen among the *dirty sweepings of Taylors' doors*. It is a reptile greatly disliked on account of its subtle cunning and poisonous qualities. There are various kinds of Leeches; the most obnoxious are, the Clerical Leech, the Medical Leech, the Legal Leech, and the State Leech: the latter kind are numerous and ravenous, but the most dangerous one at present known, is the Great Black Leech lately discovered at Milan, in Italy, and taken and brought to this Country at a great expence, at the special instance of the State *Doctor*, who, with the others of his profession, required the assistance of this crawling reptile, in the performance of an operation to relieve the Great Man's complaint (a troubled mind); the experiment, however, has proved abortive, and the Great Man is thought to *be worse than ever*, so that the creature is altogether useless. Various attempts have been made to deprive it of its vicious qualities, or at least to check its propensities, but without effect, until Dr. Hone skilfully applied some *printers' ink* to it, which the creature instinctively shunned, as all such creatures do. The first application produced the most acute sensation; the second strong convulsions: and, on the third trial, the pernicious reptile, after emitting a deal of venomous matter from its mouth, stretched its impotent carcase out, and sunk into its original nothingness.—It measures nearly six feet long, and is capable of *stretching to any length*; is remarkably sleek; much bloated, with a head much swelled, and double tongue; with a large black patch on the top; but stinks so horribly! that people of discretion shun it as a dangerous thing, unfit for introduction into moral society.

Printed and Published by W. BENBOW, 269, Strand.

1820