The Devil’s Progress on Earth, or Huggle Duggle

From Durfey’s “Pills to Purge Melancholy.”

Frier Bacon walks again,
   And Doctor Forster ¹ too;
Prosperine and Pluto,
   And many a goblin crew:
With that a merry devil,
   To make the Airing, vow’d;
      Huggle Duggle, Ha! ha! ha!
   The Devil laugh’d aloud.

Why think you that he laugh’d?
   Forsooth he came from court;
And there amongst the gallants
   Had spy’d such pretty sport;
There was such cunning jugling,
   And ladys gon so proud;
      Huggle Duggle, etc.

With that into the city
   Away the Devil went;
To view the merchants’ dealings
   It was his full intent:
And there along the brave Exchange
   He crept into the croud.
      Huggle Duggle, etc.

He went into the city
   To see all there was well;
Their scales were false, their weights were light,
   Their conscience fit for hell;
And Panders chosen magistrates,
   And Puritans allow’d.
      Huggle Duggle, etc.

With that unto the country
   Away the Devil goeth;
For there is all plain dealing,
   For that the Devil knoweth:
But the rich man reaps the gains
   For which the poor man plough’d.
      Huggle Duggle, etc.

With that the Devil in haste
   Took post away to hell,
And call’d his fellow furies,
   And told them all on earth was well:
That falsehood there did flourish,
   Plain dealing was in a cloud.
      Huggle Duggle, Ha! ha! ha!
   The devils laugh’d aloud.

Footnotes

1. Faustus. ↩