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 | The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere |  |
224
X. LOW COMPANY.
Sad Host of an ignoble companyOf hungry Cares that to thy sumptuous board
Troop, not unbidden, preying on their lord—
Mingling their shrill harsh voices with the glee
Of Pride and Sense, their friends of high degree;
If these, unmasked, are duteously abhorred,
If thou wouldst be once more from those restored
To peace, to honour, and to liberty;
Stamp on thy floor, and bid thy guests depart,
And fill thy gorgeous chambers with the poor:
Yea, press those outcasts to thine aching heart
Whom thou so long hast banished from thy door,
As if contagion issued from the eye
Of Want, or pleading Woe's melodious sigh.
| The Poetical Works of Aubrey De Vere | |