Obferve exact the Seafon and the Hour,

In which each rifing Sign exerts its Pow'r;
Attend if Saturn, or the God of War,
Or Jupiter o'er rule th' inferior Star;
Whether the Sun on Venus darts his Fires,
Or with the Moon or Mercury confpires.

START not, ye Fair, nor from my Verfe retreat
Thinking the Study of the Science great ;
For all these mighty Volumes of the Sky,
Explain'd in fhort and eafy Tables lie
Fear not to read thefe Precepts, which fo well
Each annual common Kalendar can tell.

This general Rule apply to ev'ry Case,

In twice twelve Hours, the whole thereal Space
Turns round from East to West, and finishes its Race.
Such Choice there is, when you incline to kifs,

That

you can never want a Sign for Blifs :

Nor is it only proper to impart

How far the heav'nly Syftem fuits our Art,

And how the nicest Time of Joy to chúfe;
Still hear, ye Husbands, my inftructive Muse
"Prefs not your Wives, tho height'ned Luft incite
"The Soul to try the pleasurable Fight,

"While the Blood monthly rufhing from the Veins,
"The flowing Womb with foul Pollution stains.
For then the Seed unfructifying lies,

Or downward with the blended Torrent flies,
And in the common Mafs of Nature dies:
Vain are thy Hopes, thy Punishment is juft,
And Childless thou fhalt mourn thy forward Lult.
C 3

}

So

So the Grain scatter'd by the careless Clown,
While frequent Show'rs the moiften'd Furrows drown,
Will no Increase, no Golden Harvest yield,
To load the Barn, and beautify the Field.
But if by Chance the Seeds concurring fix,
And with th' impurer Drofs of Nature mix,
What a detefted, mifcreated Thing,
From fuch ill-fuited Principles must spring?
Foul Leprous Spots fhall with his Birth begin,
Spread o'er his Body, and encruft his Skin;
For the fame Poifon which that Stream contains,
Transfer'd affects the forming Infant's Veins,
Inbred it fixes deep, and radically reigns.
For Nature's common Bofom nothing breeds,
That this malignant Female Filth exceeds:
Let this infect the tender nurfling Vine,
Its Beauty withers, and its Arms recline;
On Corn, or blooming Buds the Venom caft,
They fade, as at the Lightning's fatal Blast;
Lick'd by the Dog it proves his certain bane,
And heats to giddy Whirls his madding Brain.
Ye Husbands then fuch foul Embraces fly,
And tho provok'd, the nauseous Bliss deny;
Let Nature for a clean Receiver stay,
The Fruit will well reward thy wife delay.

"Ye too, fond Wives, who in excess of Joy
"Snatch at the Blifs, and Heat and Strength employ,
"Be modeft ;. nor to show the Woman's force,
"Difgrace the Sex, and fpoil the genial Course,
The rude Concuffion of fuch frequent Strokes
Too much the defultory Womb provokes ;

And

And thus the vital Tide is backward cast

Through the fame Channels which before it pass'd.
But if the Womb the fruitful Seed retains,
Compute the worthlefs Product of thy Pains;
The fhatter'd Fluid tofs'd from fide to fide,
Will strain the Fœtus, and the Parts divide ;
The Threds spun out to an unfinew'd length,
Nor active Spring fhall boaft, nor manly Strength,

FORGIVE me, Nymphs, if by my Subject led
Thro ev'ry winding Turn, and mazy Thred,
I follow Nature to her Fountain-Head.
As I defcribe, let the pursuing Eye

The Form and Fashion of the Womb defery.

}

BENEATH thofe Parts, where stretching to its bound,

The low Abdomen girds the Belly round,
The Shop of Nature lies; a vacant Space
Of fmall Circumference divides the Place,
Pear-like the Shape; within a Membrane spreads
Her various Texture of meandrous Threds;
Thefe draw the Veffels to a purfy ftate,

And or contract their Subftance, or dilate.
Here Veins, Nerves, Arteries in Pairs declare,
How nobler Parts deserve a double Care;

They from the Mass the Blood and Spirits drain,

That irrigate profuse the thirsty Plain;

The Bottom of the Womb 'tis call'd; the Sides are cleft,

By Cells diftinguifh'd into Right and Left.

'Tis thought that Females in the Left prevail,
And that the Right contains the fprightly Male.
A Paffage here in Form oblong extends,

Where faft comprefs'd the ftiffen'd Nerve afcends,
And the warm Fluid with concurring Fluids blends.
The Sages this the Womb's Neck justly name;
Within the hollow of its inward Frame,
Join'd to the Parts, a fmall Protub'rance grows,
Whofe rifing Lips the deep Receffes close.
For while the Tiller all his Strength collects,
While Hope anticipates the fair Effects,
'The lubricated Parts their Station leave,
And clofely to the working Engine cleave;
Each Veffel ftretches, and diftending wide,

The greedy Womb attracts the glowing Tide,
And either Sex commix'd, the Streams united glide.
But now the Womb relax'd, with pleasing pain
Gently fubfides into it felf again;

1

The Seed moves with it, and thus clos'd within,
The tender Drops of Entity begin.

What Joy the Fibres of the Stomach feel,
Long pinch'd with Hunger, at a grateful Meal,
Such tickling Pleasure thro the Womb is fent,
When the firft Particles of Life ferment.
This eafy Picture of the Parts explains
How frequent Motion no effect obtains ;
The Seed and Pleasure loft in eager ftrife;
A ufeful Leffon to the forward Wife.

MOST

MOST Parents Wifhe's in one Channel run,
Most think they are not blefs'd without a Son;
Let fuch attentive my Prefcriptions read,
That teach to propagate the manly Breed.
Nor do I partial to their Vows incline,
Since Males fupport the Titles of the Line,
And in their Ancestors tranfmiffive Glory fhine.
Tho fome to Satire form'd, and born to vex,
Dare impioufly profane the fofter Sex,
As Nature careless from her Purpose stray'd,
And puny Girls by Accident were made;
By this Miftake her Operation lame,
Unwillingly the huddled up the Frame,

J

And thence the lovely charming monftrous Creature

came.

But better Judges fcorn this idle Dream,”

And still shall Beauty hold its dute esteem,»

Man ftill fhall praise, and Woman be the Themes
But yet we muft our deftin'd Task pursue,
And tell what Precepts for a Male are due;v
That a long Race of future Sons may claim
The mighty, venerable, Regal Name,
And Honours which on Princely Lines attend,
From Son to Son fucceffively descend.

THE Sages grant, what they on Reason found,
That Heat and Vigour in the Male abound;
This Trutli by plain Experiment is feen,
In Man's excelling Strength, and portly Mien,

In