And now the set hath ceased--the bows
Of fiddlers taste a brief repose,
While light along the painted floor,
Arm within arm, the couples stray,
Talking their stock of nothings o'er,
Till--nothing's left at last to say.
When lo!--most opportunely sent--
Two Exquisites, a he and she,
Just brought from Dandyland, and meant
For Fashion's grand Menagerie,
Entered the room--and scarce were there
When all flocked round them, glad to stare
At _any_ monsters, _any_ where.
Some thought them perfect, to their tastes;
While others hinted that the waists
(That in particular of the _he_ thing)
Left far too ample room for breathing:
Whereas, to meet these critics' wishes,
The isthmus there should be so small,
That Exquisites, at last, like fishes,
Must manage not to breathe at all.
The female (these same critics said),
Tho' orthodox from toe to chin,
Yet lacked that spacious width of head
To hat of toadstool much akin--
That build of bonnet, whose extent
Should, like a doctrine of dissent,
Puzzle church-doors to let it in.
However--sad as 'twas, no doubt,
That nymph so smart should go about,
With head unconscious of the place
It _ought_ to fill in Infinite Space--
Yet all allowed that, of her kind,
A prettier show 'twas hard to find;
While of that doubtful genus, "dressy men,"
The male was thought a first-rate specimen.
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