Found praise and honour at command,
Like thee—the darling of the land!
[1]I once had lovely auburn hair,
Like woodbine curled in tresses fair,
And eyes with lustre pure and bright,
Gifted with keen and searching sight—
A tongue with matchless stanzas gay,
And glory in the time of May;
The brilliant summer hours I spent
With maidens, mead, and merriment!
An end at last came to my pride,
With all my hopes and vaunts—I died!
And, like a stranger, from my head
In deaf dumb earth my hair I’ve shed:
My flesh is mingled with the mould,
And here, proud bard, thou dost behold
A sermon to the cot and hall—
I am a sermon now to all!
They who possess me well may preach!
For who my origin can teach?
And who can tell my name or race?
I have no longer nose or face!
Or voice—I am for ever dumb!
Or eyes—my eyes are holes become!
Or jaws—ah! skull so blank and damp,
Thou mouldy, foul, obstructive lamp[2]!
- ↑ These lines are evidently a description of the bard himself; the ‘spirit’ is in fact nothing else than the poet’s melancholy picture of his own approaching fate.
- ↑ There is a singular resemblance between this line and the celebrated expression of Shakspeare: ‘To lie in cold obstruction and to rot.’
‘Thou mouldy, foul, obstructive lamp!’
