Boys, 'tis little I care to dine Where the host is vain and the guests are fine, Where the wines are warm and the dishes cold, And the mutton is young, and the spinsters old. Better a humble meal, I say; Give me an honest Partie Carrée. Draw the curtains, and shut the door! Here we are, jolly good fellows four; The turbot is firm, and the joint is brown, Cut from a six-year-old South-down: Tender the grouse, and not forgot A tart of the delicate apricot. Now for a glass of the foaming wine, One should drink (a little) whene'er we dine; And prythee, admire this amber star; Sir, this is "London particular"! After the cloth's away, I trow, There's nought like a bottle of black Bordeaux! So let a simple life be mine, Always with three brave boys to dine. At supper indeed we would rather sip Nectar drawn from a ruby lip; But at dinner, spread at the close of day, Give me a hearty Partie Carrée. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE DEVIL'S WALK [ON EARTH] by SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE THE BATTLE OF THE KEGS by FRANCIS HOPKINSON THE LAW OF THE YUKON by ROBERT WILLIAM SERVICE THE SCHOLARS by WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS AN ARAB WELCOME by THOMAS BAILEY ALDRICH THE GRAVE OF COLUMBUS by JOANNA BAILLIE |