Buxom dame of Reading, or, The cuckold's cap (1)/A Smiling Full Bowl
A SMILING FULL BOWL.
WILL you credit a Miser, ’tis gold makes us wise,
The bliss of his life, the joy of his eyes;
And ask a fond Lover, where wisdom he places,
To be sure in his mistress, her charms, and her graces;
But let the free Lad speak the joy of his soul,
’Tis a sparkling Glass, and a smiling full Bowl.
The Miser is wretched, unhappy, and poor;
He suffers great want in the midst of his store:
The Lover’s disconsolate, mopish and sad,
For that which when gain’d, would soon make him mad,
The Misers a Foo’, and the Lover s an Ass,
And be only’s Wife, who adores the full Glass.
Let the Miser then hug up his ill-gotten Pelf,
And to reed empty bags, he may starve his ownself,
Let the Lover still languish ’twixt hope and despair,
And doat on a face as inconstant as fair:
But still may his bliss be as great as his soul,
Who pays no devoir but to Wine and the bowl.
This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.
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