Page:Beauties of Burn's poems.pdf/64

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Ye see your state wi' their's compar'd,
 And shudder at the niffer!
But cast a moment's fair regard,
 What ma's the mighty differ:
Discount what scant occasion gave
 That purity ye pride in,
And (what aft mair than a' the lave)
 Your better art o' hiding.

Think, when your castigated pulse
 Gies now and then a wallop:
What ragings must his veins convulse,
 That still eternal gallop!
Wi' wind and tide fair i' your tail,
 Right on ye scud your sea-way;
But in the teeth o' baith to sail,
 It maks an unco lee-way.

See social life and glee sit down,
 A' joyous and unthinking,
Till, quite transmugrify'd, they're grown
 Debautchery and Drinking:
O wad they stay to calculate
 Th' eternal consequences!
Or your more dreadful h—ll to state,
 Damnation of expences!

Ye high exalted virtuous Dames,
 Tied up in godly laces,
Before ye gie poor Frailty names,
 Suppose a change of cases:
And dear lov'd lad, convenience snug
 A treacherous inclination———
But let me whisper if your lug,
 Ye're ablins nae temptation.