Classic Poem

By an old manor law if man and wife ,
Have liv'd a twelvemonth round exempt from strife,
And on the Bible solemnly will swear,
They have not once repented in the year ;
Theirs is a flitch of bacon on demand,
The steward knows the tenure of the land.
But the court records only shew the name
Of one poor couple that made out their claim.
These hundred years but half a hog at most
Hath prov'd the total of his honour 's cost;
And for an hundred more, or I'm mistaken,
He'll hold his manor, and yet save his bacon.