Page:The Works of Lord Byron (ed. Coleridge, Prothero) - Volume 1.djvu/392

350 Appears the beggar which his grandsire was,

The curtain dropped, the gay Burletta o'er,

The audience take their turn upon the floor:

Now round the room the circling dow'gers sweep,

Now in loose waltz the thin-clad daughters leap;

The first in lengthened line majestic swim,

The last display the free unfettered limb!

Those for Hibernia's lusty sons repair

With art the charms which Nature could not spare;

These after husbands wing their eager flight,

Nor leave much mystery for the nuptial night.

Oh! blest retreats of infamy and ease,

Where, all forgotten but the power to please,

Each maid may give a loose to genial thought,

Each swain may teach new systems, or be taught:

There the blithe youngster, just returned from Spain,

Cuts the light pack, or calls the rattling main;

The jovial Caster's set, and seven's the Nick,

Or—done!—a thousand on the coming trick!

If, mad with loss, existence 'gins to tire,

And all your hope or wish is to expire,

Here's 's pistol ready for your life,

And, kinder still, two for your wife: