A POEM. 53 



And now, I think, I've plac'd before your view, 

 All that your dumb companions ought to do ; 

 And first-rate dogs, like these, may oft be found 

 To change their masters for a dozen pound ; 

 As they less perfect are, the price is less, 

 But best is cheapest most, I think, confess. 



At twelvemonths old their teeth pups shed ; 

 The second set, when once the first are sped, 

 Must last for life ; the front serrated are 

 For two years more or so, if fed with care, 

 But if on bones they have been wont to fill 

 Their carcasses, much earlier they will 

 This obvious mark of youth obliterate ; 

 Then, none can certainly their ages state 

 But those who reared the same ; thus you will feel 

 It most essential is with whom you deal. 

 If at the mart you buy, that, I have shown, 

 The dealers' characters are mostly known : 

 But gen'rally, the oldest dogs are they 

 Whose teeth, by grinding most, are worn away. 



