Four ivory eggs soon pave its floor,
With russet specks bedight; [1]
The vessel weighs, [2] forsakes the shore,
And lessens to the sight.
The mother-bird is gone to sea,
As she had chang'd her kind:
But goes the male? Far wiser, he
Is doubtless left behind.
No:-soon as from ashore he saw
The winged mansion move,
He flew to reach it, by a law
Of never-failing love.
Then, perching at his consort's side,
Was briskly borne along ;
The billows and the blasts defied,
And cheer'd her with a song.
The seaman, with sincere delight,
His feather'd shipmate eyes;
Scarce less exulting in the sight
Than when he tows a prize.
For seamen much believe in signs,
And from a chance so new,
Each some approaching good divines ;[3]
And may his hopes be true!
Hail, birds who, rather than resign
Your matrimonial plan,
Were not afraid to plough the brine,
In company with man.
[1] Bedight-decked, ornamented.
[2] Weighs weighs anchor, sets sail.
[8] Divines-foretels.
Be it your fortune, year by year,
The same resource to prove ;
And may ye, sometimes landing here,
Instruct us how to love!
142.-THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE.
A forward hare, of swiftness vain,
The genius of the neighb'ring plain,
Would oft deride the drudging crowd;-
For geniuses are ever proud.
He'd boast his flight 'twere vain to follow,
For dog and horse he'd beat them hollow;—
Nay, if he put forth all his strength,
Outstrip his brethen half a length.
A tortoise heard his vain oration,
And vented thus his indignation:
"O puss! it bodes thee dire disgrace
When I defy thee to the race.
Come, 'tis a match; nay, no denial,
I lay my shell upon the trial.”
'Twas done' and 'done,' all fair, 'a bet,' [1] Judges prepar'd, and distance set.
The scampering hare outstripp'd the wind; The creeping tortoise lagg'd behind, And scarce had pass'd a single pole When puss had almost reach'd the goal. [2] "Friend tortoise," quoth the jeering hare, "Your burden's more than you can bear;
[1] Done,' &c.-terms used on the race-course. [2] Goal-the point to which racers run.
To help your speed it were as well
That I should ease you of your shell;
Jog on a little faster, prithee: [1]
I'll take a nap and then be with thee."
The tortoise heard his taunting jeer,
But still resolv'd to persevere;
On to the goal securely crept,
While puss unknowing soundly slept.
The bets were won, the hare awoke,
When thus the victor tortoise spoke :
"Puss, though I own thy quicker parts,
Things are not always done by starts.
You may deride my awkward pace;
But slow and steady wins the race."
Pronounced as one letter, and written with three,
Two letters there are, and two only in me;
I'm double, I'm single, I'm black, blue, and grey,
I am read from both ends, and the same either
I am restless and wandering, steady and fixed, And you know not one hour what I may be next. I melt and I kindle, beseech and defy,
I am watery and moist, I am fiery and dry.
I am scornful and scowling, compassionate, meek, I am light, I am dark, I am strong, I am weak. I'm piercing and clear, I am heavy and dull, Expressive and languid, contracted and full.
I'm a globe and a mirror, a window, a door,
An index, an organ, and fifty things more.
I belong to all animals under the sun,
And to those which were long understood to have
By some I am said to exist in the mind,
And am found in potatoes, and needles, and wind.
Three jackets I own, of glass, water, and horn,
And I wore them all three on the day I was born.
I am covered quite snug, have a lid and a fringe,
Yet I move every way on invisible hinge.
A pupil I have, a most whimsical wight,
Who is little by day, and grows big in the night,
Whom I cherish with care as a part of myself;
For in truth I depend on this delicate elf,
Who collects all my food, and with wonderful knack
Throws it into a net, which I keep at my back;
And though heels over head it arrives, in a trice
It is sent up to table all proper and nice.
I am spoken of sometimes, as if I were glass,
But then it is false, and the trick will not pass.
A blow makes me run, though I have not a limb;
Though I neither have fins,nor a bladder, I swim.
Like many more couples, my partner and I
At times will look cross at each other, and shy;
Yet still, though we differ in what we're about,
One will do all the work when the other is out.
I am least apt to cry, as they always remark,
When trimmed with good lashes, or kept in the
dark.
Should I fret and be heated, they put me to bed,
And leave me to cool upon water and bread.
But if hardened I grow they make use of the knife, Lest an obstinate humour endanger my life.
Or you may, though the treatment appears to be rough,
Run a spit through my side, and with safety enough.
Like boys, who are fond of their fruit and their play,
I am seen with my ball and my apple all day.
My belt is a rainbow, I reel and I dance;
I am said to retire, though I never advance.
I am read by physicians, as one of their books,
And am used by the ladies to fasten their hooks.
My language is plain, though it cannot be heard,
And I speak without ever pronouncing a word.
Some call me a diamond, some say I am jet;
Others talk of my water, or how I am set.
I'm a borough in England, in Scotland a stream,
And an isle of the sea in the Irishman's dream.
The earth without me would no loveliness wear,
And sun, moon, and stars, at my wish, disap-
pear;
Yet so frail is my tenure, so brittle my joy,
That a speck gives me pain, and a drop can de-
stroy.
144.-EPITAPH ON AN INFANT.
Ere sin could blight or sorrow fade,
Death came, with friendly care,
The opening bud to heaven conveyed,
And bade it blossom there.
|