_Literary Gazette._

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RAMSAY'S ACCOUNT OF HIMSELF, IN A POEM ADDRESSED TO MR. JAMES ARBUCKLE.

Imprimis, then, for tallness, I
Am five feet four inches high;
A black-a-vic'd, snod, dapper fallow,
Nor lean, nor overlaid wi' tallow;
Wi' phiz of a Morocco cut,
Resembling a late man of wit,
Auld gabbet Spec, wha was sae cunning,
To be a dummie ten years running.
Then for the fabric of my mind,
'Tis mair to mirth than grief inclin'd:
I rather choose to laugh at folly,
Than shew dislike by melancholy;
Weel judging a sour heavy face
Is not the truest mark of grace.
I hate a drunkard or a glutton,
Yet I'm nae fae to wine and mutton:
Great tables ne'er engaged my wishes
When crowded with o'er mony dishes;
A healthfu' stomach sharply set
Prefers a back-sey pipin het.
I never could imagine 't vicious
Of a fair fame to be ambitious: