Lyceum! what pleasures untold
Reside in thy laugh-loving crowd;
But I may grow owlish and old,
Ere to witness a play I’m allowed.
The sound of the drop-raising bell,
Not once, as a beadle, I’ve heard;
Never sighed at a tragedy swell,
Nor laughed when a burlesque appear’d.
Shareholders, who’ve made me your sport,
Convey to this dreary arcade