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Mr. BUTLER---Please to publish the following.
THERE is a word much-used at this day, which is not explained by Johnson or
Bayley: perhaps some idea of its signification may be found in the following:
A CROSTICK
I nsolvent debtors, aiming ne'er to pay:
N otorious gamblers risking all at play.
S edtious whigs, who think a man should die,
U nless his sentiments with their' comply.
R evengleful tories, democracy disdain;
G reat Britain, they think ought to rule & reign.
E nlarg'd jail-birds, men with five years pay:--
N ews-men, Court members, servants run away
T the vicious ign'rant herd; for knaves fit tools
S ome may be honest, yet deluded fools.
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A crostick is a poem that forms a vertical word from the first letters of each line. In this poem, the word "INSURGENTS" is formed with a verse that has nothing good to say about these men. The Regulators are called vengeful, seditious, jail-birds, and debtors who choose not to pay. The writer says that this word is not explained by Johnson or Bayley (Bailey). The first edition of Samuel Johnson's dictionary was published in 1755. Nathan Bailey first published his in 1736. These would have been the most commonly used dictionaries in the 1780's.
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"A Crostick" poem published in the Hampshire Gazette
publisher Hampshire Gazette |
date Jun 6, 1787 |
location Northampton, Massachusetts |
width 4.25" |
height 3.5" |
process/materials printed paper, ink |
accession # #L04.108 |
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