But if such things no more engage
The taste of a politer age,
To help them out in time of need
Another Tofts[200] must rabbits breed:
Each pregnant female trembling hears,
And, overcome with spleen and fears, 440
Consults her faithful glass no more,
But, madly bounding o'er the floor,
Feels hairs all o'er her body grow,
By Fancy turn'd into a doe.
Now, to promote their private ends,
Nature her usual course suspends,
And varies from the stated plan
Observed e'er since the world began.
Bodies--which foolishly we thought,
By Custom's servile maxims taught, 450
Needed a regular supply,
And without nourishment must die--
With craving appetites, and sense
Of hunger easily dispense,
And, pliant to their wondrous skill,
Are taught, like watches, to stand still,
Uninjured, for a month or more,
Then go on as they did before.
The novel takes, the tale succeeds,
Amply supplies its author's needs, 460
And Betty Canning[201] is at least,
With Gascoyne's help, a six months' feast.
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