Loosen'd from the minor's tether,
Free to mortgage or to sell,
Wild as wind, and light as feather,
Bid the sons of thrift farewell.
Call the Betseys, Kates, and Jennies,
All the names that banish care;
LAVISH of your grandsire's guineas,
Show the spirit of an heir.
All that prey on vice or folly
Joy to see their quarry fly;
There the gamester light and jolly,
There the lender grave and sly.
Wealth, my lad, was made to wander,
Let it wander as it will;
Call the jockey, call the pander,
Bid them come and take their fill.
When the bonny blade carouses,
Pockets full, and spirits high--
What are acres? what are houses?
Only dirt or wet or dry.
Should the guardian friend or mother
Tell the woes of wilful waste;
Scorn their counsel, scorn their pother--
You can hang or drown at last.'"
These verses were addressed to Thrale's nephew, Sir John Lade, in
August, 1780. They bear a strong resemblance to some of Burns' in his
"Beggar's Sonata," written in 1785:--
"What is title, what is treasure,
What is reputation's care;
If we lead a life of pleasure,
Can it matter how or where?"
Boswell's "Life of Johnson" was published in May, 1791. It is thus
mentioned in "Thraliana":--
"_May_, 1791.--Mr. Boswell's book is coming out, and the wits expect
me to tremble: what will the fellow say? ... that has not been said
already."
No date, but previous to 25th May, 1791.
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