AT first the circle held but few;
Till, as the loud laugh stronger grew,
DUKES, LORDS, and COMMONS fondly join'd,
Eager the mighty joke to find:
Not one of 'em a sentence spoke,
With peals of laughter like to choak;
Each as he came th' infection seiz'd,
And by his friend behind was teaz'd
With "What's the matter?" — All at once,
The friend behind turns equal Dunce.