Page:Poems (Barbauld).djvu/35

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( 25 )

The Groans of the Tankard.


Dulci digne mero!
Horat.


OF ſtrange events I ſing, and portents dire;
The wond'rous themes a reverent ear require:
Tho' ſtrange the tale, the faithful Muſe believe,
And what ſhe ſays with pious awe receive.

'Twas at the ſolemn, ſilent, noon-tide hour,
When hunger rages with deſpotic power,
When the lean ſtudent quits his Hebrew roots
For the groſs nouriſhment of Engliſh fruits,
And throws unfiniſh'd airy ſyſtems by

For ſolid pudding and ſubſtantial pye,

When