 | Poems, in English, Scotch, and Latin |  |
64
ON SEEING SIR JAMIE PURCHASE A JEST BOOK.
Say, Muse, (for well thou canst I wot)What charm has loos'd the Gordian knot
Of Jamie's purse, the sage profound,
In field and forum both renown'd,—
That purse where captive shillings pine,
Where copper sleeps as in the mine,
Unwak'd by Misery's plaintive prayer:
Or, if a farthing 'scape, 'tis rare.
Say, purse, what could induce thy Lord
To draw a shilling from his hoard?—
—Alas! poor gentleman! he's smit
With passion to be thought a wit,
But lacking brains that can supply it,
He's forc'd, hard fate! he's forc'd to buy it.
| Poems, in English, Scotch, and Latin | |