Horace And Lydia Reconciled

HORACE     When you were mine in auld lang syne,     And when none else your charms might ogle,     I'll not deny,     Fair nymph, that I     Was happier than a Persian mogul.     LYDIA     Before she came--that rival flame!--     (Was ever female creature sillier?)     In those good times,     Bepraised in rhymes,     I was more famed than Mother Ilia!     HORACE     Chloe of Thrace! With what a grace     Does she at song or harp employ her!     I'd gladly die     If only I     Might live forever to enjoy her!     LYDIA     My Sybaris so noble is     That, by the gods! I love him madly--     That I might save     Him from the grave     I'd give my life, and give it gladly!     HORACE     What if ma belle from favor fell,     And I made up my mind to shake her,     Would Lydia, then,     Come back again     And to her quondam flame betake her?     LYDIA     My other beau should surely go,     And you alone should find me gracious;     For no one slings     Such odes and things     As does the lauriger Horatius!