A D V I C E

To Young Gentlemen ;

OR, An Anwer to the LADIES of LONDON.

To the Tune of, The Ladies of London. This may be Printed, R. P.

Ll Jolly Blades that Inhabit the Town,
And with the fair Sex are contriving,
From the Gay Fop, to the hone bed Clown,
    be advis'd to reolve again Wiving ;
Let not a popect of Pleaure delude,
    where o many Plagues are attending,
Fo 'tis the Nature of Wives to Obtrude,
    and Mieries heap without ending.

Fir, have a care of the Lady pecie,
    who exclaims again Drinking and Roaring,
That pivately turns up the White of her Eyes
    and in publick abominates Whoing
But if you Coach her a mile out of Town
    and quote her but Solomon's Vices ;
With a light trip you may tumble her down,
    though eeming he modely nice is.

Let no City-Girl your freedom beguile,
    hee'l cheat you with mode behaviour,
Who its like a Rabbit tru up fo to boil,
    and wears he's a Maid by her Saviour :
But if you cunningly manage your Plot,
    you'l quickly be admitted under ;
Her coy behaviour will oon be fogot,
    hee'l beath out her Soul in a lumber.

The Widdow avoid where Pollicy lurks
    petending to act by her Concience
That's black as the Devil and large as a Turk's
    hee'l teae you to Death with her Nonene :
But if you love her and long fo a Bout,
    you ne'r mu and mincing the matter,
Buh her with Jollitry bikly about,
    and down with your Bitches and at her.

Let not the Country wench that is coy,
    ininuate into your favour
Fo when he knows what it is to enjoy
    he quickly will change her behaviour :
Turn an inatiate Mis of the Town,
    to purchae Gallants hee'l endeavour ;
Pawn from her Carcae her Paragon Gown
    to maintain the curteous Pleaure.

But if your Vigo a Wife doth require
   and will not admit of fobearing ;
Any may erve fo to quench your deire,
   the's no Barrel the better Herring.
When you have ty'd the true Lovers Knot
   'tis one of the Cures depending
To Father a bood you never half got,
   without any further contending.

When the Wifes bought a Bed, lea the Cucko grow in,
   the Midwife he makes an Oration,
And cryes the poo Infant is o like the Dad
   'tis wothy of your Obervation ;
Whil the good Woman is pleaed in her heart
   to hear them o Err in their chatting,
Knowing her Huband and he was a-part
    when Bully, the Boy was a getting.

Now how to avoid o heavy a Cure,
   I do like a Bother advie ye,
Never to take her fo better fo woe,
   if you do, by my troth you'r a Niey,
Fo you without may get her conent
   and ne'r make half that Puther
Then when he's fale, o her Potion is pent
   you may change and make choice of another.

L O N D O N.

Printed for J. Back, at the Black Boy near
Draw-Bridge on London-Bridge.

The tune "Ladies of London" starts automatically if your browser plays midi files (see note).

The page has been set with a modern reconstruction of late 17th-century typefaces.
To display these correctly, see the instructions on the main page,
Restoration Print Culture.

Textual Notes

The ballad "Advice to Young Gentlemen" was printed in London between 1685 and 1688.
It responds to Thomas D'Urfey's anonymously issued "Advice to the Ladies of London" by the same printer [1687?]. The original is at Oxford's Bodleian Library; a reproduction is available on microfilm in Early English Books, 1641-1700, 339: 27 and Women Advising Women 5. 3: 3. Indexed as Wing A666 and ESTC R56. For the layout, see the facsimile, recto and verso.

 1999 Francis Steen, Department of English, University of California at Santa Barbara
CogWeb Citation and Copyright Information Revised 10 September 1999

Retoration Print Culture