The poetical works of John Nicholson ... Carefully edited from the original editions, with additional notes and a sketch of his life and writings. By W. G. Hird |
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 | The poetical works of John Nicholson |  |
The youthful poacher first a terrier keeps,
And where the conies haunt oft slily creeps,
Till one is caught,—and then the foolish boy
Is elevated with a ruinous joy.
His parents chide not, nor his actions blame,
But praise his skill, and gladly take the game.
Growing in vice, such implements he gets
As powder, shot, a fowling-piece, and nets.
His parents then too late their follies see,
Pass days of grief, and nights of misery!
Absent from home—he ranges far and wide,
His comrades are his ruin and his pride;
Daily they spend the money they obtain;
Half drunk at night they sally forth again:
Dangers on ev'ry side they heedless scorn,
If they with hares and pheasants can return!
And where the conies haunt oft slily creeps,
Till one is caught,—and then the foolish boy
Is elevated with a ruinous joy.
His parents chide not, nor his actions blame,
But praise his skill, and gladly take the game.
Growing in vice, such implements he gets
As powder, shot, a fowling-piece, and nets.
His parents then too late their follies see,
Pass days of grief, and nights of misery!
92
His comrades are his ruin and his pride;
Daily they spend the money they obtain;
Half drunk at night they sally forth again:
Dangers on ev'ry side they heedless scorn,
If they with hares and pheasants can return!
| The poetical works of John Nicholson | |