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The Poems of Robert Fergusson

Edited by Matthew P. McDiarmid

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On the Death of Dr Toshack of Perth, a great humourist.

Where be those gibes, those flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table in a roar. Hamlet, Act V.

The Doctor dead! let old St Johnston mourn;
Let laughter's sons to sorrow's vot'ries turn;
Mirth, wit, and humour from the earth are gone,
And to the summit of Olympus flown.
Could Momus die, 'tis sure, as Jove's in heav'n,
The vacant chair to Toshack would be giv'n.