The poem below was included in a little book published in 1757 with the tile Fables in Verse, for the Improvement of the Young and Old. The author is unknown.
THE BALD CAVALIER
WHEN periwigs came first in wear, Their use was to supply And cover the bald pate with hair, To keep it warm and dry.
For this good end, our Cavalier Determined one to buy, Which did so natural appear That it deceived the eye.
But riding out one windy day, Behold! a sudden squall Soon blew his feathered hat away, And periweg and all.
He joined the laugh with noddle bare, And sang in concert tone, How should I save another's hair, Who could not keep my own?
Moral
To take upon oneself a joke, Good humour shows and wit, Which may a second laugh provoke, And leave the biter bit.1