Page:The works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld volume 1.djvu/107

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THE GROANS OF THE TANKARD.


Dulci digne mero! Horat.


Of strange events I sing, and portents dire;
The wondrous themes a reverent ear require:
Though strange the tale, the faithful Muse believe,
And what she says, with pious awe receive.

’T was at the solemn, silent, noon-tide hour,
When hunger rages with despotic power,
When the lean student quits his Hebrew roots
For the gross nourishment of English fruits,
And throws unfinished airy systems by
For solid pudding and substantial pie;