Page:Songs of a Savoyard.djvu/43

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I recommend acres
Of clumsy dressmakers—
Their fit and their finishing touches;
A sum in addition
They pay for permission
To say that they make for the Duchess!

The Duke.⁠Those pressing prevailers,
The ready-made tailors,
Quote me as their great double-barrel;
I allow them to do so,
Though Robinson Crusoe
Would jib at their wearing apparel!
I sit, by selection,
Upon the direction
Of several Companies bubble;
As soon as they're floated
I'm freely bank-noted—
I'm pretty well paid for my trouble!

The Duchess.⁠At middle-class party
I play at écarté—
And I'm by no means a beginner;
To one of my station
The remuneration—
Five guineas a night and my dinner.
I write letters blatant
On medicines patent—
And use any other you mustn't;
And vow my complexion
Derives its perfection
From somebody's soap—which it doesn't.