Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1751-1816)
Here's to the Maiden of Bashful Fifteen
1Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen;
2 Here's to the widow of fifty;
3Here's to the flaunting extravagant quean,
4 And here's to the housewife that's thrifty.
Chorus
5 Let the toast pass,--
6 Drink to the lass,
7I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
8Here's to the charmer whose dimples we prize;
9 Now to the maid who has none, sir:
10Here's to the girl with a pair of blue eyes,
11 And here's to the nymph with but one, sir.
Chorus
12 Let the toast pass,--
13 Drink to the lass,
14I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
15Here's to the maid with a bosom of snow;
16 Now to her that's as brown as a berry:
17Here's to the wife with her face full of woe,
18 And now to the damsel that's merry.
Chorus
19 Let the toast pass,--
20 Drink to the lass,
21I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
22For let 'em be clumsy, or let 'em be slim,
23 Young or ancient, I care not a feather;
24So fill a pint bumper quite up to the brim,
25 And let us e'en toast them together.
Chorus
26 Let the toast pass,--
27 Drink to the lass,
28I'll warrant she'll prove an excuse for the glass.
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal (1780); facs. edn. (Menston: Scolar, 1969), Act III, scene iii. PR 3682 S3 1780a Robarts Library
First publication date:
1777
RPO poem editor: N. J. Endicott
RP edition: 2RP.1.778; RPO 1996-2000.
Recent editing: 2:2002/3/27
Rhyme: abab ccc
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