The Gadfly + 

All gentle folks who owe a grudge + 

To any living thing + 

Open your ears and stay your trudge + 

Whilst I in dudgeon sing. + 

The Gadfly he hath stung me sore⁠— + 

O may he ne’er sting you! + 

But we have many a horrid bore,⁠— + 

He may sting black and blue. + 

Has any here an old gray Mare + 

With three legs all her store, + 

O put it to her Buttocks bare + 

And straight she’ll run on four. + 

Has any here a Lawyer suit + 

Of 1743, + 

Take Lawyer’s nose and put it to ’t + 

And you the end will see. + 

Is there a Man in Parliament + 

Dumbfounder’d in his speech, + 

O let his neighbour make a rent + 

And put one in his breech. + 

O Lowther how much better thou + 

Hadst figur’d t’ other day + 

When to the folks thou mad’st a bow + 

And hadst no more to say. + 

If lucky Gadfly had but ta’en + 

His seat⁠ ⁠… + 

And put thee to a little pain + 

To save thee from a worse. + 

Better than Southey it had been, + 

Better than Mr. D⁠⸺⁠ + 

Better than Wordsworth, too, I ween, + 

Better than Mr. V⁠⸺. + 

Forgive me, pray, good people all, + 

For deviating so⁠— + 

In spirit sure I had a call⁠— + 

And now I on will go. + 

Has any here a daughter fair + 

Too fond of reading novels, + 

Too apt to fall in love with care + 

And charming Mister Lovels, + 

O put a Gadfly to that thing + 

She keeps so white and pert⁠— + 

I mean the finger for the ring, + 

And it will breed a wort. + 

Has any here a pious spouse + 

Who seven times a day + 

Scolds as King David pray’d, to chouse + 

And have her holy way⁠— + 

O let a Gadfly’s little sting + 

Persuade her sacred tongue + 

That noises are a common thing, + 

But that her bell has rung. + 

And as this is the summum bo- + 

num of all conquering, + 

I leave “withouten wordes mo” + 

The Gadfly’s little sting. + 