A DELICATE DITTY.* MY muse so sweet, A song complete, Bid echo sound symphonious; And trill away A melting lay Which rival may The kissing Bonefonius ;† * The object of this little poem is, by an ironical imitation of certain popular writers of meretricious love songs, and "Roguish Sonnets," to stigmatize them with that opprobrium which they so justly merit. † Johannes Bonefonius, a Cyprian devotee, a Frenchman of the fifteenth century, and author of certain amatory poems, which have been rendered into English, with happy improvements, by some well-wisher to community, and are, no doubt, very popular, as well as highly meritorious. My passion's hot As pepper-pot, This gentleman (like many other delicious poets, and poetesses, from the days of Sappho down to Mrs. Robinson) seems to have supposed, that young people, of different sexes, in the hey-day of youth and beauty, when the pulse "'gins wallop, "And ragings wild the veins convulse "With still eternal gallop!"a are in want of fuel to be added to the blaze of passion. He, therefore, set himself to work to teach young ladies and gentlemen, "The prettiest tricks in the world!"b and wrote his "Basia," a very entertaining work, which contains much important information relative to some astonishing improvements, which the gentleman, in conjunction with one Miss Pancharis (who, I dare say, was no better than she should have been) had made in the ancient and honourable art of kissing. But, to be serious,— If the poor publisher of an obscene print is justly sen a Burns. b This line is from "Little's Poems," which cannot be too severely anathematized for their pernicious tendency in society. Or brandy mix'd with ginger! The ardent fire Of my desire, Should I come nigh her I really think would singe her !* My little love! My duck! my dove! My lips to you Till black and blue, With rapture's sweet excesses! tenced to the pillory for poisoning the minds of the younger classes of community, what ought to be the punishment of the gentleman who diffuses poison a thousand times more deleterious, because a thousand times more palatable ? *Hauriens animam meam caducam JOHANNES SECUNDUS NICOLAUS. 2 M If you assail, With tooth and nail, I'll kiss so much the longer! And should you fight, And scratch and bite, Like fury quite, I'll kiss so much the stronger !* "Heav'n knows that I never lov'd sinning, "Except little sinnings in love !" LITTLE'S POEMS. How much more noble is the sentiment of Burns on this subject: "The sacred lowe of weell plac'd love "Luxuriantly indulge it, "But never 'tempt the illicit rove, "Though nothing should divulge it; "I wave the quantum of the sin, * Tum me morsibus hinc et inde figas |