And in his scrip I dropp'd my little store,
And wept to think that little was no more.
He breath'd his pray'r," Long may such goodness live!"
'Twas all he gave, 'twas all he had to give.
Epitaph on a young woman.
In dawn of life she wisely sought her God;
And the straight path of thorny virtue trod.
Fond to oblige, too gentle to offend;
Belov'd by all, to all the good a friend:
The bad she censur'd by her life alone :
Blind to their faults, severe upon her own:
In others' griefs a tender part she bore,
And with the needy shar'd her little store.
At distance view'd the world with pious dread,
And to God's temple for protection fled;
There sought that peace which Heav'n alone can give,
And learn'd to die ere others learn to live.
The Looking Glass; or, ill humor corrected,
1. There was a little stubborn dame,
Whom no authority could tame;
Restive by long indulgence grown,
No will she minded but her own.
At trifles oft she'd scold and fret ;
Then in a corner take a seat,
And sourly moping all the day,
Disdain alike to work or play.
2. Papa all softer arts had tried,
And sharper remedies applied;
But both were vain; for every course
He took still made her worse and worse.
3. Mamma observ'd the rising lass,
By stealth retiring to the glass,
To practise little airs unseen,
In the true genius of thirteen;
On this a deep design she laid,
To tame the humor of the maid;
Contriving, like a prudent mother,
To make one folly cure another.
4. Upon the wall, against the seat
Which Jessy us'd for her retreat,
Whene'er by accident offended,
A looking glass was straight suspended,
That it might show her how deform'd
She look'd, and frightful, when she storm'd;
And warn her, as she priz'd her beauty,
To bend her humor to her duty.
5. All this the looking glass achiev'd;
Its threats were minded and believ'd.
The maid, who spurn'd at all advice,
Grew tame and gentle in a trice:
So when all other means had fail'd,
The silent monitor prevail'd.
The Butterfly and the Snail; or elevation renders little minds proud and insolent.
1. ALL upstarts insolent in place,
Remind us of their vulgar race.
As in the sunshine of the morn,
A Butterfly (but newly born,)
Sat proudly perking on a rose;
With pert conceit his bosom glows:
His wings, (all glorious to behold,)
Bedropt with azure, jet and gold,
Wide he displays; the spangled dew
Reflects his eyes, and various hue.
2. His now forgotten friend, a Snail,
Beneath his house with slimy trail
Crawls o'er the grass; whom when he spies,
In wrath he to the gard❜ner cries:
"What means yon peasant's daily toil,
From choking weeds to rid the soil ?
Why wake you to the morning's care?
Why with new arts correct the year?
Why grows the peach with crimson hue?
And why the plum's inviting blue?
Were they to feast his taste design'd,
That vermin of voracious kind?
Crush then the slow, the pilf'ring race;
So purge thy garden from disgrace."
3. "What arrogance!" the snail replied;
"How insolent is upstart pride!
Hadst thou not thus with insult vain
Provok'd my patience to complain,
I had conceal'd thy meaner birth,
Nor trac'd thee to the scum of earth.
For scarce nine suns have wak'd the hours,
To swell the fruit, and paint the flow'rs,
Since I thy humbler life survey'd,
In base and sordid guise array'd:
A hideous insect, vile, unclean,
You dragg'd a slow and noisome train;
And from your spider bowels drew
Foul film, and spun the dirty clue.
4. I own my humble life, good friend;
Snail was I born, and Snail shall end.
And what's a butterfly? At best,
He's but a caterpillar drest :
And all thy race, (a numerous seed,)
Shall prove of caterpillar breed."
The Brother and Sister; or mental excellence superior to personal beauty.
1. WARN'D by our counsel oft beware,
And look into yourselves with care.
There was a certain father had,
A homely girl and comely lad.
These being at their childish play
Within their mother's room one day,
A looking-glass was in the chair,
And they beheld their faces there.
2. The boy grows prouder as he looks
The girl is in a rage, nor brooks
Her boasting brother's jests and sneers,
Affronted at each word she hears.
Then to her father down she flies,
And urges all she can devise
Against the boy, who could presume
To meddle in a lady's room.
3. At which embracing each in turn,
With most affectionate concern,
་་ My dears," said he, "you must not pass
A day without this useful glass;
You, lest you spoil a pretty face,
By doing things to your disgrace
You, by good conduct to correct
Your form, and beautify defect."
The Lamb and the Pig; or nature and education.
T. CONSULT the moralist, you'll find
'That education forms the mind.
But education ne'er supplied
What ruling nature has denied.
If you'll the following page pursue,
My tale shall prove this doctrine true.
2. Since to the muse all brutes belong,
The lamb shall usher in my song;
Whose snowy fleece adorn'd her skin,
Emblem of native white within.
Meekness and love possess'd her soul,
And innocence had crown'd the whole.
3. It chanc'd upon a luckless day,
The little wanton, full of play,
Rejoiced a thymy bank to gain,
But short the triumphs of her reign;
The treacherous slopes her fate foretell,
And soon the pretty trifler fell.
4. Beneath, a dirty ditch impress'd
Its mire upon her spotless vest.
What greater ill could lamb betide,
The butcher's barb'rous knife beside ?
5. The shepherd, wounded with her cries,
Straight to the bleating sufferer flies.
The lambkin in his arms he took,
And bore her to a neighb'ring brook.
The silver streams her wool refin'd
Her fleece in virgin whiteness shin'd
6. Cleans'd from pollution's ev'ry stain,
She join❜d her fellows on the plain;
And saw afar the noisome shore,
But ne'er approach'd those dangers more.
The shepherd blest the kind event,
And view'd his flock with sweet content.
7.To market next he shap'd his way,
And bought provisions for the day:
But made, for winter's rich supply,
A purchase from a farmer's sty.
The children round their parent crowd,
And testify their mirth aloud.
8. They saw the stranger with surprise,
And all admir'd his little eyes.
Familiar grown he shar'd their joys;
Shar'd too the porridge with the boys.
The females o'er his dress preside;
They wash his face, and scour his hide,
But daily more a swine he grew,
For all these housewives e'er could do.
The Bee and the Ant; or, the advantages of application and diligence in early years.
1. On a bright dewy summer's morn,
A Bee rang'd o'er the verdant lawn;
Studious to husband every hour,
And make the most of every flower.
2. Nimble from stalk to stalk she flies,
And loads with yellow wax her thighs;
With which the artist builds her comb,
And keeps all tight and warm at home:
Or from the cowslip's golden bells
Sucks honey to enrich her cells;
Or every tempting rose pursues,
Or sips the lily's fragrant dews;
Yet never robs the shining bloom,
Or of its beauty, or perfume.
Thus she discharg'd in every way,
The various duties of the day.
3. It chanc'd a frugal ant was near,
Whose brow was furrow'd o'er by caress
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