Ballads for the Times (Now first collected,) Geraldine, A Modern Pyramid, Bartenus, A Thousand Lines, and other poems. By Martin F. Tupper. A new Edition, enlarged and revised |
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 | Ballads for the Times |  |
The New Year.
The old man he is dead, young heir,
And gone to his long account;
Come, stand on his hearth, and sit in his chair,
And into his saddle mount!
And gone to his long account;
Come, stand on his hearth, and sit in his chair,
And into his saddle mount!
The old man's face was a face to be fear'd,
But thine both loving and gay;
O who would not choose for that stern white beard,
A bright young cheek alway?
But thine both loving and gay;
O who would not choose for that stern white beard,
A bright young cheek alway?
The old man he had outlived them all,
His friends, he said, were gone;
But hundreds are wassailing now in the hall,
And true friends every one!
His friends, he said, were gone;
But hundreds are wassailing now in the hall,
And true friends every one!
The old man moan'd both sore and long
Of pleasures past, he said;
But pleasures to come are the young heir's song,
The living, not the dead!
Of pleasures past, he said;
But pleasures to come are the young heir's song,
The living, not the dead!
The old man babbled of old regrets,
Alack! how much he owed:
But the young heir has not a feather of debts
His heart withal to load!
Alack! how much he owed:
But the young heir has not a feather of debts
His heart withal to load!
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The old man used to shudder, and seem
Remembering secret sin;
But the happy young heir is as if in a dream,
Paradise all within!
Remembering secret sin;
But the happy young heir is as if in a dream,
Paradise all within!
Alas! for the old man,—where is he now?
And fear for thyself, young heir;
For he was innocent once as thou,
As ruddy and blythe and fair:
And fear for thyself, young heir;
For he was innocent once as thou,
As ruddy and blythe and fair:
Reap wisdom from his furrow'd face,
Cull counsel from his fear;
O speed thee, young heir, in gifts and in grace,
And blessings on thee,—New Year!
Cull counsel from his fear;
O speed thee, young heir, in gifts and in grace,
And blessings on thee,—New Year!
| Ballads for the Times | |