Like the vex'd patriarch—'Are they mine to give?'
Ah! much I envy thee thy boys, who ride
On poplar branch, and canter at thy side;
And girls, whose cheeks thy chin's fierce fondness know,
And with fresh beauty at the contact glow."
"Oh! simple friend," said Ditchem, "would'st thou gain
A father's pleasure by a husband's pain?
560
Alas! what pleasure—when some vig'rous boy
Should swell thy pride, some rosy girl thy joy—