Page from book with large heading 'The Goff' and start of poem

First page of Thomas Mathison's poem 'The Goff', published in 1743.
[National Library of Scotland reference: RB.s.1405]

'The Goff' page 1

The first few lines of Thomas Mathison's poem 'The Goff' depict the game of golf as an heroic contest.

Transcription

'Goff, and the Man, I sing, who, em'lous, plies,
The jointed club; whose balls invade the skies;
Who from Edina's [Edinburgh's] tow'rs, his peaceful home,
In quest of fame o'er Letha's [Leith's] plains did roam.
Long toil'd the hero, on the verdant field,
Strain'd his stout arm the weighty club to wield;
Such toils it cost, such labours to obtain
The bays of conquest, and the bowl to gain.'

Note about line 1: 'em'lous' = 'emulous' – in a spirit of eager rivalry

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