n of the last
squabble was a dispute which had arisen among them, about which of the
seven loved a pipe and flagon best. The poet had carried the day over
all the rest, with the exception of the parson, who, out of respect for
his cloth, had the most votes, being placed at the head of the jolly
companions--the poet singing:--

"Oh, where are there seven beneath the sky,
Who with these seven for thirst can vie?
But the best for good ale, these seven among,
Are the jolly divine, and the son of song."

Disgusted with these drunken swine, we went nearer to the gate, to take a
peep at the follies of the palace of _Love_, the purblind king; it is a
place easy to enter and difficult to escape from, and in it there is a
prodigious number of chambers. In the hall opposite to the door was
insane Cupid, with his two arrows upon his bow, shooting tormenting
poison, which is called _bliss_. Upon the floor I could see many fair
damsels, finely dressed, walking about, and behind them a parcel of
miserable youths gazing upon their beauty, and each eager to obtain a
glance from his mistress, fearing her frown far worse than death. One
was bending to the ground and placing a letter in the hands of his
goddess; another a piece of music, all in fearful expectation, like
school-boys showing their tasks to their master; and the damsels would
glance back upon them a smile, to keep up the fervour of their adorers,
but nothing more, lest they should lose their desire, become cured of
their wound and depart. On going forward to the parlour, I beheld
females learning to dance and to sing, and to play on instruments, for
the purpose of making their lovers seven times more foolish than they
were already: on going to the buttery, I found them taking lessons in
delicacy and propriety of eating: on going to the cellar, I saw them
making up potent love drinks, from nail-parings and the like: on going to
the chambers, we beheld a fellow in a secret apartment, putting himself
into all kinds of attitudes, to teach his beloved elegant manners;
another learning in a glass to laugh in a becoming manner, without
showing to his love too much of his teeth; another we found embellishing
his tale before going to her, and repeating the same lesson a hundred
times. Tired of this insiped folly, I went to another chamber, where
there was a nobleman, who had sent for a bard from the street of Pride,
to compose a eulogistic strain on his angel, and