Classic Poem

Book I. Ode XI.

TO JAMES HARE, ESQ.

BY GENERAL FITZPATRICK .

A SK not, my Hare , to know what place for thee
Charles , and for me, has cater'd; or consult
The Cunning-man , whose pen to Mac Mahon
" Insinuates , " like Bayes , the secret plot
Of new arrangements. We are young no more,
Except as women's men. — Be it the last
Of Opposition Winters — that which now
Recedes the better to invade again
With prouder billows, Church and King — or, should
Minorities proceed in slow decay
To famine, let us game , and let us drink,
Nor spin the perfect love — but use it well,
Expert, and ready-made. — Alas, the power
To use it may depart; though Wit remains
To charm the toilette, or the board: let us
To-day , through Wyndham or Fitzwilliam , go
At once to *** 's bower in Downing Street ,
Nor trust St. Patrick's Champion — for to-morrow.