"And oh! dear soother of the pensive breast"

And oh! dear soother of the pensive breast,
Let homelier words without offence attest
How where on random topics as they hit
The moments’ humour, rough Tars spend their wit.
Thy changes, which to wiser Spirits seem
Dark as a riddle, prove a favourite theme;
Thy motions, intricate and manifold,
Oft help to make bold fancy’s flight more bold;
Beget strange themes; and to freaks give birth
Of speech as wild as ever heightened mirth.