The Poetical Works of James Thomson The City of Dreadful Night: By James Thomson ("B. V."): Edited by Bertram Dobell: With a Memoir of the Author: In two volumes |
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 | The Poetical Works of James Thomson |  |
Epilogue.
(Grossness here indeed is regnant,
But it is the grossness pregnant;
Heine growled it, ending thus
His wild Book of Lazarus;
Modern swansong's final note,
Hoarse death-rattle in the throat.
Swan was white or black?—Our candour!
Black or white no swan's a gander.)
But it is the grossness pregnant;
Heine growled it, ending thus
His wild Book of Lazarus;
Modern swansong's final note,
Hoarse death-rattle in the throat.
Swan was white or black?—Our candour!
Black or white no swan's a gander.)
“Glory warms us in the grave!
Stupid words, that sound so brave!
Better warmth would give to us
Molly Seagrim amorous,
Slobbering kisses lips and tongue,
And yet reeking from the dung.
Better warmth would likewise dart
Through the cockles of one's heart,
Drinking mulled wine, punch, or grog,
Until helpless as a log,
In the lowest den whose crowd is
Thieves and drabs and ragged rowdies,
Mortgaged to the gallows-rope,
But who meanwhile breathe and hope,
And more enviable far
Than the son of Thetis are.
Yes, Pelides was a judge;—
Better live the poorest drudge
In the upper world, than loom
On the Stygian shore of gloom
Phantom-Leader, bodiless roamer,
Though besung by mighty Homer.”
Stupid words, that sound so brave!
Better warmth would give to us
Molly Seagrim amorous,
Slobbering kisses lips and tongue,
And yet reeking from the dung.
51
Through the cockles of one's heart,
Drinking mulled wine, punch, or grog,
Until helpless as a log,
In the lowest den whose crowd is
Thieves and drabs and ragged rowdies,
Mortgaged to the gallows-rope,
But who meanwhile breathe and hope,
And more enviable far
Than the son of Thetis are.
Yes, Pelides was a judge;—
Better live the poorest drudge
In the upper world, than loom
On the Stygian shore of gloom
Phantom-Leader, bodiless roamer,
Though besung by mighty Homer.”
| The Poetical Works of James Thomson | |