"O say, thou enemy to soap and towels! Hast no compassion lurking in thy bowels? Think what thy neighbours suffer by thy whim Of keeping self and house in such a trim! The officers of health should view the scene, And put thy shop and thee in quarantine. Consider thou, in summer's ardent heat, When various means are tried to cool the street, What must each decent neighbour suffer then From various vapours issuing from thy den. "When fell Disease, with all her horrid train, Spreads her dark pinions o'er ill-fated Spain, That Britain may not witness such a scene, Behoves us doubly now to keep our dwellings clean. "Say, if, within the street where thou dost dwell, Each house were kept exactly like thy cell; O, say, thou enemy to brooms and mops! How long thy neighbours could keep open shops, If, following thee in taste, each wretched elf, Unshav'd, unwash'd, and squalid like thyself, Resolv'd to live?--The answer's very plain, One year would be the utmost of their reign: Victims to filth, each vot'ry soon would fall, And one grand jail-distemper kill them all. "Persons there are, who say thou hast been seen (Some years ago) with hands and face wash'd clean; And, wouldst thou quit this most unseemly plan, Thou art ('tis said) a very comely man: Of polish'd language, partial to the fair, Then why not wash thy face and comb thy matted hair? Clear from thy house accumulated dirt, New paint the front, and wear a cleaner shirt." Many are the reports concerning his civility, and polite manner of attending to the ladies whenever they have honoured him with their commands; and several curious persons have come to town from various parts of the country, on purpose to see so remarkable a figure. Before the powder-tax was introduced, Nathaniel frequently paid a shilling for dressing that head, which of late years he scarcely seemed to think worthy of a comb! He mends his own clothes and washes his own linen, which he proudly acknowledges. His answer to a gentleman who wished to convert him to cleanliness, was, "It is of no use, Sir; if I wash my hands to-day, they will be dirty again to-morrow." On being asked whether he kept a dog or cat to destroy rats, mice, &c. he replied, "No, Sir, they only make more dirt, and spoil more goods than any service they are of; but as to rats and mice, how can they live in my house, when I take care to leave them nothing to eat?" If asked why he does not take down his shutters which have been so long up, or why he does not put his goods in proper order, his answer is, "he has been long thinking of it, but he has not time."