[Page 317]

RIDDLE.

By the Same.
1 MY size is large, my shape's uncouth,
2 I have neither limb nor feature;
3 Mens hands have form'd my skin so smooth:
4 My guts were made by nature.
5 Nor male nor female is my sex,
6 You'll scarce believe my troth;
7 For when I've told you all my tricks
8 You'll swear 't must needs be both.
9 For oft my master lies with me,
10 His wife I oft enjoy;
11 Yet's she's no whore, no cuckold he,
12 And true to both am I.
13 My cloaths nor women fit, nor men,
14 They're neither coat nor gown;
15 Yet oft both men and maidens, when
16 They're naked, have them on.
[Page 318]
17 When I'm upon my legs, I lie,
18 Yet legs in truth I've none;
19 And never am I seen so high
20 To rise as when I'm down.
21 What's oft my belly, is oft my back,
22 And what my feet, my head;
23 And though I'm up, I have a knack
24 Of being still a-bed.

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About this text

Title (in Source Edition): RIDDLE.
Author: Richard Roderick
Themes: humour; objects
Genres: ballad metre; Chevy Chase stanza; riddle
References: DMI 22482

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Source edition

Dodsley, Robert, 1703-1764. A Collection of Poems in Six Volumes. By Several Hands. Vol. II. London: printed by J. Hughs, for R. and J. Dodsley, 1763 [1st ed. 1758], pp. 317-318. 6v.: music; 8⁰. (ESTC T131163; OTA K104099.002) (Page images digitized by the Eighteenth-Century Poetry Archive from a copy in the archive's library.)

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The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.