THE DRUNKARD.
Reading edition
“The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty, and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.”—Prov. xxiii. 21.
A pipe in mouth, a jug in hand, A haggard face and pale, A slovenly dress, a slouching gait— These tell the drunkard’s tale. A dirty house, a weeping wife, Children inclined to roam, A cheerless hearth, an empty board— These mark the drunkard’s home. The vulgar song, the ribald jest, Confusion, slang, and noise, The cheating game, the madd’ning draught— These are the drunkard’s joys. A wasted youth, a manhood lost, Old age without a friend, A workhouse, or, perhaps, a jail— Such is the drunkard’s end. An angry Judge, a conscience raked Through endless years to come, A knawing worm that dieth not— Such is the drunkard’s doom.
