The Works of John Hookham Frere In Verse and Prose Now First Collected with a Prefatory Memoir by his Nephews W. E. and Sir Bartle Frere |
 | I. |
 | II. |
|
| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. | VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. |
| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
| XLI. |
| XLII. |
| XLIII. |
| XLIV. |
| XLV. |
| XLVI. |
| XLVII. |
| XLVIII. |
| XLIX. |
| L. |
| LI. |
| LII. |
| LIII. |
| LIV. |
| LV. |
| LVI. |
| LVII. |
| LVIII. |
| LIX. |
| LX. |
| LXI. |
| LXII. |
| LXIII. |
| LXIV. |
| LXV. |
| LXVI. |
| LXVII. |
| LXVIII. |
| LXIX. |
| LXX. |
| LXXI. |
| LXXII. |
| LXXIII. |
| LXXIV. |
| LXXV. |
| LXXVI. |
| LXXVII. |
| LXXVIII. |
| LXXIX. |
| LXXX. |
| LXXXI. |
| LXXXII. |
| LXXXIII. |
| LXXXIV. |
| LXXXV. |
| LXXXVI. |
| LXXXVII. |
| LXXXVIII. |
| LXXXIX. |
| XC. |
| XCI. |
| XCII. |
| XCIII. |
| XCIV. |
| XCV. |
| XCVI. |
| XCVII. |
| XCVIII. |
| XCIX. |
| C. |
| CI. |
| CII. |
| CIII. |
| CIV. |
| CV. |
| CVI. |
| CVII. |
| CVIII. |
|
|
|
 | The Works of John Hookham Frere In Verse and Prose |  |
VIII.
Never oblige your company to stay!
Never detain a man; nor send away!
Nor rouse from his repose, the weary guest,
That sinks upon the couch with wine oppress'd!
These formal rules enforc'd against the will,
Are found offensive. Let the bearer fill
Just as we please—freely to drink away;
Such merry meetings come not every day.
For me—since for to-night my stint is finish'd,
Before my common-sense is more diminish'd,
I shall retire—(the rule, I think, is right)
Not absolutely drunk nor sober quite.
For he that drinks beyond the proper point
Puts his own sense and judgment out of joint,
Talking outrageous, idle, empty stuff;
(The mere effect of wine more than enough)—
Telling a thousand things, that, on the morrow,
He recollects with sober shame and sorrow:
At other times, and in his proper nature,
An easy, quiet, amiable creature.
Never detain a man; nor send away!
Nor rouse from his repose, the weary guest,
That sinks upon the couch with wine oppress'd!
These formal rules enforc'd against the will,
Are found offensive. Let the bearer fill
Just as we please—freely to drink away;
Such merry meetings come not every day.
For me—since for to-night my stint is finish'd,
Before my common-sense is more diminish'd,
I shall retire—(the rule, I think, is right)
Not absolutely drunk nor sober quite.
For he that drinks beyond the proper point
Puts his own sense and judgment out of joint,
332
(The mere effect of wine more than enough)—
Telling a thousand things, that, on the morrow,
He recollects with sober shame and sorrow:
At other times, and in his proper nature,
An easy, quiet, amiable creature.
Now you, Simonides, mind what I say!
You chatter in your cups and prate away,
Like a poor slave, drunk on a holiday.
You never can resolve to leave your liquor;
The faster it comes round, you drink the quicker—
There's some excuse—“The slave has fill'd the cup
“A challenge or a pledge”—you drink it up!
“'Tis a libation”—and you're so devout,
You can't refuse it! Manly brains and stout
Might stand the trial, drinking hard and fast,
And keep their sense and judgment to the last.
You chatter in your cups and prate away,
Like a poor slave, drunk on a holiday.
You never can resolve to leave your liquor;
The faster it comes round, you drink the quicker—
There's some excuse—“The slave has fill'd the cup
“A challenge or a pledge”—you drink it up!
“'Tis a libation”—and you're so devout,
You can't refuse it! Manly brains and stout
Might stand the trial, drinking hard and fast,
And keep their sense and judgment to the last.
Farewell! be merry! may your hours be spent
Without a quarrel or an argument—
In inoffensive, easy merriment;
Like a good concert keeping time and measure,
Such entertainments give the truest pleasure.
Without a quarrel or an argument—
In inoffensive, easy merriment;
Like a good concert keeping time and measure,
Such entertainments give the truest pleasure.
| The Works of John Hookham Frere In Verse and Prose | |