Rose from a seed of tiny size,

That seem'd to promise no such prize;
A transient visit intervening,

And made almost without a meaning,
(Hardly the effect of inclination,
Much less of pleasing expectation)
Produced a friendship, then begun,
That has cemented us in one;

And placed it in our power to prove,
By long fidelity and love,

That Solomon has wisely spoken;

"A threefold cord is not soon broken."

Dec. 1781.

THE COLUBRIAD.

CLOSE by the threshold of a door nail'd fast
Three kittens sat; each kitten look'd aghast.
I, passing swift and inattentive by,

At the three kittens cast a careless eye;

Not much concern'd to know what they did there;
Not deeming kittens worth a poet's care.
But presently a loud and furious hiss

Caused me to stop, and to exclaim, "What's this?"
When lo! upon the threshold met my view,
With head erect, and eyes of fiery hue,

A viper, long as Count de Grasse's queue.
Forth from his head his forked tongue he throws,
Darting it full against a kitten's nose;

Who having never seen, in field or house,
The like, sat still and silent as a mouse;
Only projecting, with attention due,

Her whisker'd face, she ask'd him, "Who are you?"
On to the hall went I, with pace not slow,
But swift as lightning, for a long Dutch hoe:
With which well arm'd I hasten'd to the spot,
To find the viper, but I found him not.
And turning up the leaves and shrubs around,
Found only that he was not to be found.
But still the kittens, sitting as before,
Sat watching close the bottom of the door.
"I hope," said I, "the villain I would kill
Has slipp'd between the door and the door sill;
And if I make dispatch, and follow hard,

No doubt but I shall find him in the yard :'
For long ere now it should have been rehearsed,
'Twas in the garden that I found him first.
E'en there I found him, there the full grown cat
His head, with velvet paw, did gently pat;
As curious as the kittens erst had been
To learn what this phenomenon might mean.
Fill'd with heroic ardour at the sight,
And fearing every moment he would bite,
And rob our household of our only cat

That was of age to combat with a rat;

With outstretch'd hoe I slew him at the door, And taught him NEVER TO COME THERE NO MORE.

1782.

ON FRIENDSHIP.

Amicitia nisi inter bonos esse non potest.

WHAT virtue can we name, or grace,

But men unqualified and base

Will boast it their possession?
Profusion apes the noble part
Of liberality of heart,

And dulness of discretion.

But, as the gem of richest cost
Is ever counterfeited most,
So, always, imitation
Employs the utmost skill she can
To counterfeit the faithful man,
The friend of long duration.

CICERO.

Some will pronounce me too severe—
But long experience speaks me clear;
Therefore, that censure scorning,

I will proceed to mark the shelves
On which so many dash themselves,
And give the simple warning.

Youth, unadmonish'd by a guide,
Will trust to any fair outside;

An error soon corrected;

For who but learns with riper years,

That man, when smoothest he

Is most to be suspected?

appears

But here again a danger lies;
Lest thus deluded by our eyes,

And taking trash for treasure,

We should, when undeceived, conclude Friendship imaginary good,

A mere Utopian pleasure.

An acquisition, rather rare,
Is yet no subject of despair;

Nor should it seem distressful

If, either on forbidden ground,
Or where it was not to be found,
We sought it unsuccessful.

No friendship will abide the test
That stands on sordid interest

And mean self-love erected;
Nor such as may awhile subsist
"Twixt sensualist and sensualist,

For vicious ends connected.

Who hopes a friend, should have a heart Himself well furnish'd for the part,

And ready on occasion

To shew the virtue that he seeks;
For 'tis a union that bespeaks
A just reciprocation.

A fretful temper will divide

The closest knot that may be tied,

By ceaseless sharp corrosion :

A temper passionate and fierce
May suddenly your joys disperse
At one immense explosion.

In vain the talkative unite
With hope of permanent delight:
The secret just committed
They drop through mere desire to prate,
Forgetting its important weight,

And by themselves outwitted.

How bright soe'er the prospect seems,
All thoughts of friendship are but dreams,
If envy chance to creep in;

An envious man, if you succeed,
May prove a dangerous foe indeed,
But not a friend worth keeping.

As envy pines at good possess'd,
So jealousy looks forth distress'd

On good that seems approaching;
And, if success his steps attend,
Discerns a rival in a friend,

And hates him for encroaching.

Hence authors of illustrious name
(Unless belied by common fame)

Are sadly prone to quarrel;
To deem the wit a friend displays
So much of loss to their own praise,

And pluck each other's laurel.