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A ROAST GOOSE WITH ME.
WRITTEN ON THE THIRTY-THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF MY BIRTH-DAY, OCTOBER 17, 1828.
The winds of my thirty-third autumn give note
Of the storms that must shortly sweep over the realm,
And, whirling in gusts round my garden and cot,
Descend the sear leaves of the self-offered Elm.
Then fasten the shutters, and, circling the board,
Prepare we to welcome my Birth-night with glee;
And, Ellen, set on what the house can afford—
My friends shall partake of a Roast Goose with me.
Of the storms that must shortly sweep over the realm,
And, whirling in gusts round my garden and cot,
Descend the sear leaves of the self-offered Elm.
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Prepare we to welcome my Birth-night with glee;
And, Ellen, set on what the house can afford—
My friends shall partake of a Roast Goose with me.
Come M------s------n, the generous, the feeling, the kind,
Sure friend of the Stranger, whatever his claim;
If a genius, you serve him with heart and with mind;
If a quack—why your goodness does often the same.
A ming shall be your's, for the wings of your wit
And your humour soar high in the regions of glee;
And with pride I behold you thus deigning to sit
And share at my table a Roast Goose with me!
Sure friend of the Stranger, whatever his claim;
If a genius, you serve him with heart and with mind;
If a quack—why your goodness does often the same.
A ming shall be your's, for the wings of your wit
And your humour soar high in the regions of glee;
And with pride I behold you thus deigning to sit
And share at my table a Roast Goose with me!
Come W------d------n the upright, an epithet due
To your conduct, if ever to man's upon earth—
In crowds not loquacious, but placed with a few
Good fellows, the foremost for joke and for mirth.
A piece of the back pray accept. 'Tis the part
Which as proper to image your worth I decree;
You are true to the back bone; and here, from my heart,
Your welcome I speak to a Roast Goose with me!
To your conduct, if ever to man's upon earth—
In crowds not loquacious, but placed with a few
Good fellows, the foremost for joke and for mirth.
A piece of the back pray accept. 'Tis the part
Which as proper to image your worth I decree;
You are true to the back bone; and here, from my heart,
Your welcome I speak to a Roast Goose with me!
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Come H—l, for true faith and true loyalty known,
And therefore none welcomer graces my board.
Some say you have whimsies; and one, I will own,
You have which the poet delights to record—
'Tis the whim of remaining unaltered my friend!
And dull were my heart were it calm when I see
The Founder of all my enjoyments attend,
To share in the treat of a Roast Goose with me.
And therefore none welcomer graces my board.
Some say you have whimsies; and one, I will own,
You have which the poet delights to record—
'Tis the whim of remaining unaltered my friend!
And dull were my heart were it calm when I see
The Founder of all my enjoyments attend,
To share in the treat of a Roast Goose with me.
Come T—t—m, my brother, as man and as bard,
What part shall I carve you? Pray choose it, for know
Your host's admiration, esteem, and regard,
No part of the dish is sufficient to show.
Take a leg for solidity; or, if you please,
A ming for high genius the world yet shall see—
And ne'er may a worse hour break in on your ease,
Than the hour that you spend at a Roast Goose with me!
What part shall I carve you? Pray choose it, for know
Your host's admiration, esteem, and regard,
No part of the dish is sufficient to show.
Take a leg for solidity; or, if you please,
A ming for high genius the world yet shall see—
And ne'er may a worse hour break in on your ease,
Than the hour that you spend at a Roast Goose with me!
Come A—d—r—n, last—though not last in true worth,
Nor in his estimation whose table you grace.
The fiat of Heaven decreed at your birth—
“Not an atom of goose in this man shall have place!”
That fiat I reverence, and therefore, instead,
A slice of this roast beef your portion shall be—
Your true English heart, and your clearness of head
Deserve better things than a Roast Goose with me.
Nor in his estimation whose table you grace.
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“Not an atom of goose in this man shall have place!”
That fiat I reverence, and therefore, instead,
A slice of this roast beef your portion shall be—
Your true English heart, and your clearness of head
Deserve better things than a Roast Goose with me.
Now, Ellen, remove. Let the punch-bowl succeed.
Come, gentlemen, drink—in a bumper—the King!
Fill again for the Church; and may he whose vile creed
Slights the one or the other, conspicuously swing!
Yet once more for my landlord; and then, as you choose,
Let your toasts be the offspring of whim or of glee—
And ne'er shall Reflection her plaudit refuse
To the night that you supped on a Roast Goose with me.
Come, gentlemen, drink—in a bumper—the King!
Fill again for the Church; and may he whose vile creed
Slights the one or the other, conspicuously swing!
Yet once more for my landlord; and then, as you choose,
Let your toasts be the offspring of whim or of glee—
And ne'er shall Reflection her plaudit refuse
To the night that you supped on a Roast Goose with me.
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