Youth, for whose ear and monishing of late
I sang of Prodigals and lost estate,
Have thou thy joy of living and be gay ;
But know not less that there must come a day,-
Aye, and perchance e'en now it hasteneth,-
When thine own heart shall speak to thee and say,
There is no king more terrible than Death.
58.-A MAN'S A MAN FOR A' THAT
Is there, for honest poverty,
That hangs his head, and a' that?
The coward-slave, we pass him by,.
We dare be poor for a' that!
For a' that and a' that,
Our toils obscure, and a' that;
The rank is but the guinea-stamp ;
The man's the gowd for a' that.
What tho' on hamely fare we dine,
Wear hodden grey, and a' that ;
Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine,
A man's a man, for a' that.
For a' that, and a' that,
Their tinsel show, and a' that:
The honest man, tho' e'er sae poor,
Is king o' men for a' that.
Ye see yon birkie,1 ca'd a lord,
Wha struts and stares, and a' that;
Tho' hundreds worship at his word,
He's but a coof 1 for a' that!
For a' that, and a'. that,
His riband, star, and a' that,
The man of independent mind,
He looks and laughs at a' that.
A prince can mak' a belted knight,
A marquis, duke, and a' that;
But an honest man's abune his might,
Gude faith, he mauna fa' that!
For a' that, and a' that,
Their dignities, and a' that,
The pith o' sense, and pride o' worth,
Are higher ranks than a' that.
Then let us pray that come it may,
As come it will for a' that;
That sense and worth, o'er a' the earth
May bear the gree,2 and a' that;
For a' that, and a' that,
It's coming yet, for a' that;
That man to man, the warld o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.
59.-CHARGE OF ARIEL TO THE SYLPHS
YE Sylphs and Sylphids, to your chief give ear : Fays, Fairies, Genii, Elves, and Demons, hear! Ye know the spheres and various tasks assigned By laws eternal to the aërial kind :
Some in the fields of purest æther play,
And bask and whiten in the blaze of day;
Some guide the course of wandering orbs on
high,
Or roll the planets though the boundless sky;
Some less refined, beneath the moon's pale light
Pursue the stars that shoot athwart the night,
Or suck the mists in grosser air below,
Or dip their pinions in the painted bow,
Or brew fierce tempests on the wintry main,
Or o'er the glebe distil the kindly rain.
Others on earth o'er human race preside,
Watch all their ways, and all their actions guide :
Of these the chief the care of nations own,
And guard with arms divine the British throne.
Our humbler province is to tend the Fair,—
Not a less pleasing, though less glorious care:
To save the powder from too rude a gale,
Nor let the imprisoned essences exhale ;
To draw fresh colours from the vernal flowers;
To steal from rainbows ere they drop in showers
A brighter wash; to curl their waving hairs,
Assist their blushes, and inspire their airs;
Nay oft, in dreams, invention we bestow
To change a flounce, or add a furbelow.
This day, black omens threat the brightest Fair That e'er deserved a watchful spirit's care:
Some dire disaster, or by force or flight;
But what or where, the fates have wrapt in night.
Whether the nymph shall break Diana's law,
Or some frail china jar receive a flaw;
Or stain her honour, or her new brocade ;
Forget her prayers, or miss a masquerade ;
Or lose her heart, or necklace, at a ball;
Or whether heaven has doomed that Shock 1 must
Haste then, ye spirits! to your charge repair:
The fluttering fan be Zephyretta's care;
The drops to thee, Brillante, we consign;
And, Momentilla, let the watch be thine;
Do thou, Crispissa, tend her favourite lock;
Ariel himself shall be the guard of Shock.
Whatever spirit, careless of his charge, His post neglects, or leaves the Fair at large, Shall feel sharp vengeance soon o'ertake his sins, Be stopped in vials, or transfixed with pins; Or plunged in lakes of bitter washes lie, Or wedged whole ages in a bodkin's eye; Gums and pomatums shall his flight restrain, While clogged he beats his silken wings in vain ; Or alum styptics with contracting power Shrink his thin essence like a rivel'd 2 flower: Or, as Ixion fixed, the wretch shall feel The giddy motion of the whirling mill, In fumes of burning chocolate shall glow, And tremble at the sea that froths below!
How vainly men themselves amaze
To win the palm, the oak, or bays,
1 The lady's lap-dog.
2 Wrinkled connected with shrivel.
3 The version here followed is that of Arber, who copies from the edition of 1681.
And their incessant labours see
Crowned from some single herb or tree,
Whose short and narrow-vergéd shade
Does prudently their toils upbraid,
While all flowers and all trees do close
To weave the garlands of repose!
Fair Quiet, have I found thee here,
And Innocence, thy sister dear?
Mistaken long, I sought you then
In busy companies of men.
Your sacred plants, if here below,
Only among the plants will grow :
Society is all but rude
To this delicious solitude.
No white nor red was ever seen
So amorous as this lovely green.
Fond lovers, cruel as their flame,
Cut in these trees their mistress' name;
Little, alas! they know or heed
How far these beauties hers exceed!
Fair trees, wheresoe'er your barks I wound,
No name shall but your own be found.
When we have run our passions' heat,
Love hither makes his best retreat.
The gods that mortal beauty chase
Still in a tree did end their race:
Apollo hunted Daphne so,
Only that she might laurel grow;
And Pan did after Syrinx speed,
Not as a nymph, but for a reed.
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