A sigh

Manuscripts, in different hands, of a collection of several dozen primarily satirical and anonymous poems, many scatological. The majority of the poems are political satires, especially concerning the abdication of King James II and the accession of King William III; other targets include Charles Montagu, Earl of Halifax; religious zeal; and France. Other poems satirize women, including Barbara Villiers (afterwards Palmer), Countess of Castlemaine and Duchess of Cleveland, with reference to her affair with rope-dancer Jacob Hall; Mrs. Moseley and her link with Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley and 1st Earl of Shaftesbury; and women's conduct generally. The collection also includes a broadside printing of Packington's Pound, as well as numerous satirical songs sung to its tune.