It is a flower, which buds and grows, Then shrinks into that fatal mould, It is a dream, whose seeming truth It is a dial, which points out It is a weary interlude, Which doth short joys, long woes include: SONG XXI. BY MR. GEORGE LILLO.* THE sweet and blushing rose So anguish still succeeds delight, SONG XXII. BY MR. ROBERT DODSLEY. MAN's a poor deluded bubble, Yet presuming on his senses, On he goes, most wondrous wise : *In the opera of Sylvia, or the Country Burial;' a piece occasioned by the success of Gay's Beggar's Opera.' SONG XXIII. THE BLIND BOY. BY COLLEY CIBBER, ESQ.* O SAY! what is that thing call'd light, You talk of wond'rous things you see, My day or night myself I make, And could I ever keep awake, With heavy sighs I often hear Then let not what I cannot have Although a poor blind boy. * Written for, and set by the celebrated Mr. Stanley, late organist of St. Andrews, Holborn. See the music in vol. iii. SONG XXIV. BY MR. COFFE Y. WELCOME, Welcome, brother debtor, To this poor but merry place, Where no bailiff, dun, nor setter, Dares to show his frightful face : But, kind sir, as you're a stranger, Down your garnish you must lay, Or your coat will be in danger; You must either strip or pay. Ne'er repine at your confinement From your children or your wife ; Wisdom lies in true resignment, Through the various scenes of life. Scorn to show the least resentment, Though beneath the frowns of fate; Knaves and beggars find contentment, Fears and cares attend the great. Though our creditors are spiteful, Strongly guarded by the sea: Prisoners are as well as we. What was it made great Alexander Weep at his unfriendly fate? Beyond this world's strong prison-gate: By the heavens and stars above; SONG XXV.* How pleasant a sailor's life passes, But cheerfully spends all his gain. And would not commit a base action Then why should we quarrel for riches, A light heart, and a thin pair of breeches, The world is a beautiful garden, Enrich'd with the blessings of life, Which plenty too often breeds strife. * In an old English opera, called Perseus and Andromeda.' [The Biographia Dramatica records no performance with this title earlier than the year 1728; a date that Ritson would hardly denominate 'old.'] |