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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 knew
When kisses are a shilling each
We should adventure on a few!
He was a connoisseur of lips,
And though I cannot quite accept
Some of his rather shady tips
(I grant he often overstepped
The bounds of taste)—still he can teach
Misogynists a thing or two—
When kisses are a shilling each
We should adventure on a few!
