but 'twould be rude, you know, to ask the question;
and with a would-be roguish leer and wink,
said—“suthernd, in one word, bid them think!”
ye sprightly youths, quite flush with hope and spirit,
who think to storm the world by dint of merit,
to you the dotard has a deal to say,
in his sly, dry, seious, proverb way!
he bids you mind, amid your thoughtless rattle,
that the first blow is ever half the battle;
that tho' some by the skirt may try to snatch him,
yet by the foreclock is the hold to catch him;
that whether doing, suffering, or forbearing,
you
Prologue Spoken At The Theatre Of Dumfries(2/3)