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VERSES TO MR. JOHN MAVOR, OF WADHAM COLLEGE, OXFORD; WITH A PRESENT OF SOME VIDONIA.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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VERSES TO MR. JOHN MAVOR, OF WADHAM COLLEGE, OXFORD; WITH A PRESENT OF SOME VIDONIA.

To you, whose frolic spirit on the wing
Of glowing youth spontaneously can fly,
To youth and nature's never-failing spring,
Where all the stores of youth and nature lie;
To you, my friend, who, blest in classic lore,
—An early moralist and youthful sage—
Who, from a rich and variegated store,
Can draw life's nectar, mellowed many an age;
What is the envied Cape, the proud Tokay,
Th'o'erflowing goblet, or the mantling bowl,
That makes the dull so wise, the fool so gay?
What can they give to such a buoyant soul?
Nor wit, nor wisdom, can they all impart,
Nor native passion, nor ingenuous truth;
These—the rich vintage of a fervid heart—
Gush in full tides of nature and of youth.
Yet still accept the humble gift I send:
Friendship's “the wine of life” when sound and true
—As sings the awful bard to whom I bend,—
And such the friendship that I feel for you.
 

Dr. Young.