Page:Trivia (John Gay) to which is added London (Samuel Johnson) (1809).djvu/33

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Now dawns the morn; the sturdy lad awakes,
Teaps from his stall, his tangled hair he shakes;
Then, leaning o'er the rails, he musing stood,171
And view'd below the black canal of mud,
Where common-sew'rs a lulling murmur keep,
Whose torrents rush from Holborn's fatal steep:
Pensive through idleness, tears flow'd apace,175
Which eas'd his loaded heart, and—wash'd his face;
At length he sighing cried, "That boy was blest
Whose infant lips have drain'd a mother's breast;
But happier far are those (if such be known)
Whom both a father and a mother own:180
But I, alas! hard Fortune's utmost scorn,
Who ne'er knew parent, was an orphan born!
Some boys are rich by birth beyond all wants,
Belov'd by uncles, and kind good old aunts;
When time comes round, a Christmas box they bear,
And one day makes them rich for all the year.
Had I the precepts of a father learn'd,187
Perhaps I then the coachman's fare had earn'd;
For lesser boys can drive: I thirsty stand,
And see the double flagon charge their hand;190