University of Virginia Library

Search this document 
Horace in London

Consisting of imitations of the first two books of the odes of Horace. By the authors of the rejected addresses, or the new theatrum poetarum [Horace and James Smith]

collapse sectionI. 
 I. 
 II. 
 III. 
 IV. 
 V. 
 VI. 
 VII. 
 VIII. 
 IX. 
 X. 
 XI. 
 XII. 
 XIII. 
 XIV. 
 XV. 
 XVI. 
 XVII. 
 XVIII. 
 XIX. 
 XX. 
 XXII. 
 XXIII. 
 XXIV. 
 XXV. 
 XXVI. 
 XXVII. 
 XXVIII. 
 XXIX. 
 XXX. 
 XXXI. 
 XXXII. 
 XXXIII. 
 XXXIV. 
 XXXV. 
 XXXVI. 
 XXXVII. 
 XXXVIII. 
collapse sectionII. 
 I. 
 II. 
 III. 
 IV. 
 V. 
 VI. 
 VII. 
ODE VII. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.
 VIII. 
 IX. 
 X. 
 XI. 
 XII. 
 XIII. 
 XIV. 
 XV. 
 XVI. 
 XVII. 
 XVIII. 
 XIX. 
 XX. 


130

ODE VII. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE.

O sæpe mecum tempus in Itimum.

Oh! whence are you come,
My crony, my chum,
In boyhood's bright sun-shiney weather?
What shock of the spheres,
After so many years,
Has thrown us again both together?
How oft you and I
Have drank ourselves dry,
Till mounting high over our heads,
Morn enter'd the casement,
And stared with amazement,
To find us not yet in our beds.

131

One night at the British,
We grew rather skittish,
And sallied out fighting the rabble;
But the guardians of night,
Put our valour to flight,
And I lost my hat in the squabble.
Fair cloud-cover'd Venus,
Intruding between us,
Me carried away from the battle;
While you, left at large,
Return'd to the charge,
And bore off a lanthorn and rattle.
'Tis six—come and dine,
And over our wine
We'll talk of our juvenile laurels;
What boys were we then!
But now we are men,
And seldom engage in street quarrels.
At twelve let us sup,
We'll not keep it up
All night, like your rake-helly ranters;

132

At three, or half after,
The goddess of laughter,
Shall bear off the empty decanters.
We'll talk of our gambols,
Our riots and rambles,
Till Phœbus looks out of his garret;
Two bottles in one,
Are excellent fun,
So, waiter—a magnum of claret.