I need not tell the snake's sad doom, Preserv'd in spirits and in song, Montgomery. 86. THE INNOCENT THIEF. FROM THE LATIN OF VINCENT BOURNE. Not a flower can be found in the fields, Or the spot that we till for our pleasure, Scarce any she quits unexplored, Her lucrative task she pursues, And pilfers with so much address, That none of their odour they lose, Nor charm by their beauty the less. Not thus inoffensively preys The canker-worm, in-dwelling foe! His voracity not thus allays, The sparrow, the finch, or the crow. The worm, more expensively fed, The pride of the garden devours; But she, with such delicate skill, That the chemist in vain with his still [1] Then grudge not her temperate meals, Cowper. 87.-THE WITHERED LEAF. Oh! mark the wither'd leaves that fall, Upon the human heart they call, And preach without a sound. They say, To day his green leaves wave; To morrow, chang'd by time, and sere, [2] He drops into the grave." [1] Still-a vessel used in distillation, or the process of extracting the spirit from liquids. [2] Sere-dry and withered. Let wisdom be our sole concern, W. L. Bowles. 88.-CHILDREN GATHERING FLOWERS IN THE CHURCHYARD OF SALISBURY CATHEDRAL. When summer comes, the little children play So be their thoughts uplifted from the sod, God. W. L. Bowles. 89.-QUESTIONS TO BIRDS, AND THEIR ANSWERS. CUCKOO. Why art thou always welcome, lonely bird? -"The heart grows young again when I am heard; Not in my double note the magic lies, But in the fields, the woods, the streams and skies." KINGFISHER. Why dost thou hide thy beauty from the sun? PHEASANT. Pheasant, forsake the country; come to town; 'No; not to roost upon the throne, would I Renounce the woods, the mountains, and the sky." STORK. Stork, why were human virtues given to thee? 90. THE COTTAGER & HIS LANDLORD. FROM THE LATIN OF MILTON. A peasant to his lord paid yearly court, 91.-A FAIRY'S SONG. [1] Come, follow, follow me, Ye fairy elves that be; Light tripping o'er the green, Hand in hand we'll dance around, When mortals are at rest, And snoring in their nest, [1] This song, which is taken, with little alteration, from Percy's Reliques, appears to have been first published in the year 1658. |