Classic Poem

You wonder now to see me write
So gravely, where the subject's light.
Some part of what I here design
Regards a friend of yours and mine,
Who full of humor, fire and wit,
Not always judges what is fit;
But loves to take prodigious rounds,
And sometimes walks beyond his bounds.
You must, although the point be nice,
Venture to give him some advice.
Few hints from you will set him right,
And teach him how to be polite.
Let him, like you, observe with care
Whom to be hard on, whom to spare:
Nor indiscreetly to suppose
All subjects like Dan Jackson's nose.
To study the obliging jest,
By reading those who teach it best.
For prose, I recommend Voiture's,
For verse, (I speak my judgment) yours:
He'll find the secret out from thence
To rhyme all day without offence;
And I no more shall then accuse
The flirts of his ill-mannered Muse.

If he be guilty, you must mend him;
If he be innocent, defend him.