Page:The works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld volume 1.djvu/108

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24
THE GROANS OF THE TANKARD.
When hungry poets the glad summons own,
And leave spare Fast to dine with Gods alone:
Our sober meal dispatched with silent haste,
The decent grace concludes the short repast:
Then, urged by thirst, we cast impatient eyes
Where deep, capacious, vast, of ample size,
The Tankard stood, replenished to the brink
With the cold beverage blue-eyed Naiads drink.
But lo! a sudden prodigy appears,
And our chilled hearts recoil with startling fears:
Its yawning mouth disclosed the deep profound,
And in low murmurs breathed a sullen sound;
Cold drops of dew did on the sides appear;
No finger touched it, and no hand was near.
At length the’ indignant vase its silence broke,
First heaved deep hollow groans, and then distinctly spoke.

"How changed the scene!—for what unpardoned crimes
"Have I survived to these degenerate times?