Poem 1

He is mad,</strong> <em>whispered Lord Menteith, “he is perfectly mad; there is no purpose in quarrelling with him.”</em>
If your lordship is assured that he is NON COMPOS MENTIS, said Captain Dalgetty, “the whilk his breeding and behaviour seem to testify, the matter must end here, seeing that a madman can neither give an affront, nor render honourable satisfaction. But, by my saul, if I had my provstnt and a bottle of Rhenish under my belt, I should hive stood otherways up to him. And yet it’s a pity he should be sae weak in the intellectuals, being a strong proper man of body, fit to handle pike, morgenstern, or any other military implement whatsoever.”</strong>

About Edward Fitzgerald

English poet best known for his free translation of Omar Khayyám's "Rubáiyát," one of the most popular poems in English.

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