The Eighth Sin/Ballade of Mr. Pepys

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BALLADE OF MR. PEPYS.

"Among the others pretty Mrs. Margaret, who indeed is a very pretty lady; and, though by my vow it costs me 12d. a kiss, yet I did adventure upon a couple."—Pepys' Diary, Feb. 3, 1665.

Good Mr. Peeps or Peps or Pips (However he should be yclept),Clerk of the King's Bureau of Ships, A very spicy journal kept.He knew a lemon from a peach, And, among other things, he knewWhen kisses are a shilling each We should adventure on a few!
He was a connoisseur of lips, And though I cannot quite acceptSome of his rather shady tips (I grant he often oversteppedThe bounds of taste)—still he can teach Misogynists a thing or two—When kisses are a shilling each We should adventure on a few!
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He drank the wine of life by sips, He roundly ate and soundly slept,His spirits suffered no eclipse, But Lord! how sore he would have weptTo see his private linen bleach And flutter in the public view . . .Well, kisses are a shilling each, Let us adventure on a few!
Envoy.
O Ballad-monger, I beseech, Consider his advice anewWhen kisses are a shilling each Why not adventure on a few?
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