SENT TO MR. SHARP, AS AN APOLOGY FOR NOT DINING WITH HIM (1809–10) [*]
I cannot with pleasure leave home,
Though wit, wine, and friendship invite,
For that grim-visaged fiend is just come,
Who withers my germs of delight.
With the insult
[1] of
conquest he rides,
5And demands from its peg my warm coat,
Deep-probing back, shoulders, and sides,
With a spur
[2] —like the
name to your note.
The
[3] blithe Caledonian for once,
Whose humour will keep you from sinking,10
Will miss by good fortune the dunce,
Who spends his dull moments in thinking,
Should Doeg transgress, show the door,
And let this fine rain cool his flame;
Or to have him like me, make him poor, 15
And strike out the e from his name.
Notes
*1808. Sent to Charles Sharp on 8 September
1808. See Letter 233. Undated in
Remains, where it was published for the first time. BACK
[1] insult] grin BL Add. MS 28268, f. 260 (Letter 233) BACK
[2] spur] dart BL Add. MS 28268, f. 260 (Letter 233) BACK
[3] The] Your BL Add. MS 28268, f. 260 (Letter 233) BACK