“The present moment is our ain,
The next we never saw.”]
Here’s a bottle and an honest friend!
What wad you wish for mair, man?
Wha kens before his life may end,
What his share may be o’ care, man?
Then catch the moments as they fly,
And use them as ye ought, man?
Believe me, happiness is shy,
And comes not ay when sought, man.
LXXIV.
[The sentiment which these lines express, was one familiar to Burns, in the early, as well as concluding days of his life.]
Though fickle Fortune has deceived me,
She promis’d fair and perform’d but ill;
Of mistress, friends, and wealth bereav’d me,
Yet I bear a heart shall support me still.—
I’ll act with prudence as far’s I’m able,
But if success I must never find,
Then come misfortune, I bid thee welcome,
I’ll meet thee with an undaunted mind.