Peter Anthony Motteux

Peter Anthony Motteux (1663–1718) was a Huguenot refugee from Rouen who settled in London. He translated Rabelais and Don Quixote, edited the Gentleman's Journal (1692–94), and wrote songs and plays.

The poem here is the one printed under his name in Frederick Locker's Lyra Elegantiarum (London: E. Moxon, 1867), an anthology of vers de société and vers d'occasion by deceased authors; the texts follow that first edition.