The works of Allan Ramsay edited by Burns Martin ... and John W. Oliver [... and Alexander M. Kinghorn ... and Alexander Law] |
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THE CONCLUSION.
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The works of Allan Ramsay | ||
245
THE CONCLUSION.
After the Manner of Horace, ad librum suum.
Dear vent'rous Book, e'en take thy Will,
And scowp around the Warld thy fill:
Wow! ye're newfangle to be seen,
In guilded Turky clade, and clean.
Daft giddy Thing! to dare thy Fate,
And spang o'er Dikes that scar the blate:
But mind when anes ye're to the Bent,
(Altho in vain) ye may repent.
Alake, I'm flied thou aften meet,
A Gang that will thee sourly treat,
And ca' thee dull for a' thy Pains,
When Damps distress their drouzie Brains.
I dinna doubt whilst thou art new,
Thoul't Favour find frae not a few,
But when thou'rt rufl'd and forfairn,
Sair thumb'd by ilka Coof or Bairn;
Then, then by Age ye may grow wise,
And ken things common gies nae Price.
I'd fret, wae's me! to see the lye
Beneath the Bottom of a Pye,
Or cow'd out Page by Page to wrap
Up Snuff, or Sweeties in a Shap.
And scowp around the Warld thy fill:
Wow! ye're newfangle to be seen,
In guilded Turky clade, and clean.
Daft giddy Thing! to dare thy Fate,
And spang o'er Dikes that scar the blate:
But mind when anes ye're to the Bent,
(Altho in vain) ye may repent.
Alake, I'm flied thou aften meet,
A Gang that will thee sourly treat,
And ca' thee dull for a' thy Pains,
When Damps distress their drouzie Brains.
I dinna doubt whilst thou art new,
Thoul't Favour find frae not a few,
But when thou'rt rufl'd and forfairn,
Sair thumb'd by ilka Coof or Bairn;
Then, then by Age ye may grow wise,
And ken things common gies nae Price.
I'd fret, wae's me! to see the lye
Beneath the Bottom of a Pye,
Or cow'd out Page by Page to wrap
Up Snuff, or Sweeties in a Shap.
Away sic Fears, gae spread my Fame,
And fix me an immortal Name;
Ages to come shall thee revive,
And gar thee with new Honours live.
The future Criticks I forsee
Shall have their Notes on Notes on thee:
The Wits unborn shall Beauties find
That never enter'd in my Mind.
And fix me an immortal Name;
Ages to come shall thee revive,
And gar thee with new Honours live.
246
Shall have their Notes on Notes on thee:
The Wits unborn shall Beauties find
That never enter'd in my Mind.
Now when thou tells how I was bred,
But hough enough to a mean Trade;
To ballance that, pray let them ken
My Saul to higher Pitch cou'd sten:
And when ye shaw I'm scarce of Gear,
Gar a' my Virtues shine mair clear.
Tell, I the best and fairest please,
A little Man that loo's my Ease,
And never thole these Passions lang
That rudely mint to do me wrang.
But hough enough to a mean Trade;
To ballance that, pray let them ken
My Saul to higher Pitch cou'd sten:
And when ye shaw I'm scarce of Gear,
Gar a' my Virtues shine mair clear.
Tell, I the best and fairest please,
A little Man that loo's my Ease,
And never thole these Passions lang
That rudely mint to do me wrang.
Gin ony want to ken my Age,
See Anno Dom. on Title Page;
This Year when Springs by Care and Skill
The spacious leaden Conduits fill,
And first flow'd up the Castle-hill.
When South-Sea Projects cease to thrive,
And only North-Sea seems alive,
Tell them your Author's Thirty five.
See Anno Dom. on Title Page;
This Year when Springs by Care and Skill
The spacious leaden Conduits fill,
And first flow'd up the Castle-hill.
When South-Sea Projects cease to thrive,
And only North-Sea seems alive,
Tell them your Author's Thirty five.
The works of Allan Ramsay | ||