CCLXI.

Oh, happy, happy, thrice happy state,
When such a bright Planet governs the fate
  Of a pair of united lovers! 
’Tis theirs, in spite of the Serpent’s hiss,
To enjoy the pure primeval kiss,
With as much of the old original bliss
  As mortality ever recovers!

CCLXII.

There’s strength in double joints, no doubt,
In double X Ale, and Dublin Stout,
That the single sorts know nothing about—­
  And a fist is strongest when doubled—­
And double aqua-fortis, of course,
And double soda-water, perforce,
  Are the strongest that ever bubbled!

CCLXIII.

There’s double beauty whenever a Swan
Swims on a Lake, with her double thereon;
And ask the gardener, Luke or John,
  Of the beauty of double-blowing—­
A double dahlia delights the eye;
And it’s far the loveliest sight in the sky
  When a double rainbow is glowing!

CCLXIV.

There’s warmth in a pair of double soles;
As well as a double allowance of coals—­
  In a coat that is double-breasted—­
In double windows and double doors;
And a double U wind is blest by scores
  For its warmth to the tender-chested.

CCLXV.

There’s a twofold sweetness in double pipes;
And a double barrel and double snipes
  Give the sportsman a duplicate pleasure;
There’s double safety in double locks: 
And double letters bring cash for the box: 
And all the world knows that double knocks,
  Are gentility’s double measure.

CCLXVI.

There’s a double sweetness in double rhymes,
And a double at Whist and a double Times
  In profit are certainly double—­
By doubling, the Hare contrives to escape;
And all seamen delight in a doubled Cape,
  And a double-reef’d topsail in trouble.

CCLXVII.

There’s a double chuck at a double chin,
And of course there’s a double pleasure therein,
  If the parties were brought to telling: 

And however our Dennises take offence,
A double meaning shows double sense;
    And if proverbs tell truth,
    A double tooth
  Is Wisdom’s adopted dwelling!

CCLXVIII.

But double wisdom, and pleasure, and sense,
Beauty, respect, strength, comfort, and thence
  Through whatever the list discovers,
They are all in the double blessedness summ’d,
Of what was formerly doubled-drumm’d,
  The Marriage of two true Lovers!

CCLXIX.