How happy could I be with either

Quote byJohn Gay · 1685–1732

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The Beggar's Opera (1728), Act II, scene ii.

English (original)

How happy could I be with either, Were t' other dear charmer away!

— John Gay

All in the Downs the fleet was moor'd.

Life is a jest; and all things show it. I thought so once; and now I know it.

So comes a reckoning when the banquet's o'er,— The dreadful reckoning, and men smile no more.

'Twas when the seas were roaring With hollow blasts of wind, A damsel lay deploring, All on a rock reclined.

My lodging is on the cold ground, And hard, very hard, is my fare, But that which grieves me more Is the coldness of my dear.

Adieu, she cried, and waved her lily hand.