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[Page 217]
THE WISH.
I.
1 SHOULD I e'er become parson (for so I'm inclin'd)
2 May I get a snug benefice pat to my mind,
3 Large enough to allow of a wife at my table,
4 A cow in my yard, and a nag in my stable.
5 May my flock n'er embroil me in quarrels and strife,
6 In good humour I'd live all the days of my life,
7 And die before tir'd of myself or my wife.
II.
8 With a friend or two near me of equal degree,
9 As like me in all things as pea is to pea;
10 On a pudding and joint who contented can dine,
11 With a glass of old Port, and October divine.
12 May my flock n'er embroil me in quarrels and strife,
13 In good humour I'd live all the days of my life,
14 And die before tir'd of myself or my wife.
III.
15 May my offerings and tythes make me always appear
16 With a clean tho' coarse shirt ev'ry day in the year;
17 For of all living things, not excepting a swine,
18 The beastliest of beasts, is a beastly divine.
19 May my flock n'er embroil me in quarrels and strife,
20 In good humour I'd live all the days of my life,
21 And die before tir'd of myself or my wife.
IV.
22 May I ne'er grow too grave, not to join in the fun,
23 When my lord cracks a joke, or the squire cuts a pun,
[Page 218]24 For if life is a jest, as the wisest have spoke,
25 He lives the best life then who cuts the best joke.
26 May my flock n'er embroil me in quarrels and strife,
27 In good humour I'd live all the days of my life,
28 And die before tir'd of myself or my wife.
V.
29 With no mystical learning I'd trouble my head,
30 Relying on faith, which will do in its stead;
31 With knowledge enough heaven's gates to unlock,
32 And to take the strait road there along with my flock.
33 May my flock n'er embroil me in quarrels and strife,
34 In good humour I'd live all the days of my life,
35 And die before tir'd of myself or my wife.
VI.
36 With a bottle or two of prime wine on my shelf,
37 To recur to whene'er I am tir'd of myself;
38 And a good natur'd muse to retire to at leisure,
39 Who will wrap me in rhimes, and inspire me with measure.
40 May my flock n'er embroil me in quarrels and strife,
41 In good humour I'd live all the days of my life,
42 And die before tir'd of myself or my wife.
VII.
43 To enjoy what I have, without wishing for more,
44 For contentment with little is doubling one's store;
45 And when I am gone, may my successor say,
46 He's gone, and I wish I could live the same way:
47 For his flock ne'er embroil'd him in quarrels or strife,
48 In good humour he liv'd all the days of his life,
49 And died before tir'd of himself or his wife.
About this text
Author: Anonymous
Themes:
happiness; contentment
Genres:
refrain; wish poem
References:
DMI 31268
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Source edition
Mendez, Moses. A collection of the most esteemed pieces of poetry: that have appeared for several years. With variety of originals, by the late Moses Mendez, Esq; and other contributors to Dodsley's collection. To which this is intended as a supplement. London: printed for Richardson and Urquhart, 1767, pp. 217-218. [8],320p. ; 8⁰. (ESTC T124631; DMI 1073; OTA K099398.000) (Page images digitized from a copy in the Bodleian Library [Harding C 148].)
Editorial principles
The text has been typographically modernized, but without any silent modernization of spelling, capitalization, or punctuation. The source of the text is given and all editorial interventions have been recorded in textual notes. Based on the electronic text originally produced by the TCP project, this ECPA text has been edited to conform to the recommendations found in Level 5 of the Best Practices for TEI in Libraries version 4.0.0.