51

I've Left the Cup.

BY J. F. COLES.
AIR — In the days when we went gypsying.

I've left the cup once I loved,
A long time ago;
For well I know that misery
And death from it do flow.
When friends invite me now to drink,
I always answer no;
For I'm resolved that while I live
For Temperance I'll go.

I used to wear such ragged clothes,
A long time ago,
That all my friends deserted me;
My face they did not know.
But now I wear a handsome suit,
And when up town I go
The pretty ladies smile on me,
And call me quite a beau.

My face was once all pimpled o'er,
A long time ago,
But now my skin is fair and clear;
My cheeks with health do glow.
And when I ask a pretty girl
If I may be her beau,
She smiles and whispers, if you please,
But never answers no.

And ever since I signed the pledge,
A long time ago,
With every earthly happiness
My cup doth overflow.
In fact, whatever I possess,
To Temperance I owe;
And I'm resolved in life and death
For Temperance to go.