SONG XIX.* Busy, curious, thirsty fly, Drink with me, and drink as I Both alike are mine and thine, [Yet this difference we may see Man seeks another when 'tis gone; And though allow'd its joys to share, 'Tis Virtue here hopes Pleasure there.]† * 'Made extempore by a gentleman, occasioned by a fly drinking out of his cup of ale.' + [This moral finale was added by the Rev. Mr. Plumptre. See his Collection of Songs,' vol. i. p. 257; where a third verse appears to the original composition, which was probably omitted by Ritson, from its incongruity of metaphor.] SONG XX. ANACREON ON HIMSELF. BY THE REV. MR. FAWKES. WHEN I drain the rosy bowl, To the Nine I raise my song, Let the winds, that murmur, sweep All my sorrows to the deep. When I drink dull time away, When I sink the bowl profound, Richest fragrance flowing round, And some lovely nymph detain, Venus then inspires the strain. When from goblets deep and wide, I exhaust the generous tide, 1 All my soul unbends—I play, SONG XXI. MORTALS, learn your lives to measure, Mortals, learn your lives to measure, Then you'll ask, but none will give ; SONG XXII. OLD Chiron thus preach'd to his pupil Achilles : Must go (The gods will have it so) To the siege of Troy ; * Mr. Fawkes's translation contains the following additional lines, necessarily omitted when it was converted into a song/ When the foaming bowl I drain, Real blessings are my gain; Thence never to return to Greece again, SONG XXIII. LET's be jovial, fill our glasses, Then never let vain cares oppress us; Wine will make us red as roses, And our sorrows quite forget; Come let's fuddle all our noses, Drink ourselves quite out of debt. When grim Death comes looking for us, Death, begone, here's none but souls. Godlike Bacchus thus commanding, Ever after understanding, Drinking souls can never die. 0. SONG XXIV. EVERY man take a glass in his hand, May his laurels for ever fresh spring! Let wrangling and jangling straightway cease, Let every man strive for his country's peace; Neither tory nor whig, With their parties, look big: Here's a health to all honest men. 'Tis not owning a whimsical name Be impartial at home, if in trust: No confusion create; Here's a health to all honest men. When a company's honestly met, Their drooping spirits to whet, And drown the fatigues of the day; What madness is it thus to dispute, When neither side can his man confute? When you've said what you dare, You're but just where you were, Here's a health to all honest men. |