Dupes, that have mortgaged the last rood of land,
Or lost the fortune of some hapless wife.
But rife examples, which bid wisdom think,
Their frantic folly never can appal,
Blind avarice leads them to the ruin’s brink,
And dark despair accelerates their fall.
Full many a trinket, pledged for half the cost,
Hath raised the means of venturing once more;
Full many a watch is destined to be lost,
And run its time out in some broker’s store.