Her polish'd limbs,
Veil'd in a simple robe, their best attire;
Beyond the pomp of dress; for read more

Her polish'd limbs,
Veil'd in a simple robe, their best attire;
Beyond the pomp of dress; for Loveliness
Needs not the foreign aid of ornament,
But is, when unadorn'd the most.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy,
For read more

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,
But not expressed in fancy; rich, not gaudy,
For the apparel oft proclaims the man,
And they in France of the best rank and station
Are of a most select and generous chief in that.

So for thy spirit did devise
Its Maker seemly garniture,
Of its own essence parcel pure.--
read more

So for thy spirit did devise
Its Maker seemly garniture,
Of its own essence parcel pure.--
From grave simplicities a dress,
And reticent demureness,
And love encinctured with reserve;
Which the woven vesture would subserve.
For outward robes in their ostents
Should show the soul's habiliments.
Therefore I say,--Thou'rt fair even so,
But better Fair I use to know.

When this old cap was new
'Tis since two hundred years.

When this old cap was new
'Tis since two hundred years.

After all there is something about a wedding-gown prettier than
in any other gown in the world.

After all there is something about a wedding-gown prettier than
in any other gown in the world.

She's adorned
Amply, that in her husband's eye looks lovely,--
The truest mirror that an honest wife
read more

She's adorned
Amply, that in her husband's eye looks lovely,--
The truest mirror that an honest wife
Can see her beauty in!

Her cap, far whiter than the driven snow,
Emblem right meet of decency does yield.

Her cap, far whiter than the driven snow,
Emblem right meet of decency does yield.

To treat a poor wretch with a bottle of Burgundy, and fill his
snuff-box, is like giving a pair read more

To treat a poor wretch with a bottle of Burgundy, and fill his
snuff-box, is like giving a pair of laced ruffles to a man that
has never a shirt on his back.

Neat, not gaudy.

Neat, not gaudy.