I know the thing that's most uncommon
(Envy be silent and attend!);
I know a reasonable woman,
Handsome and witty, yet a friend.
Not warped by passion, awed by rumour,
Not grave through pride, or gay through folly;
An equal mixture of good humour
And sensible soft melancholy.
'Has she no faults, then (Envy says), sir?'
Yes, she has one, I must aver:
When all the world conspires to praise her,
The woman's deaf, and does not hear.
