SECTION VL

The Doves.

1. REAS'NING at ev'ry step he treads,
Man yet mistakes his way,

While meaner things, whom instinct leads,
Are rarely known to stray.

2 One silent eve I wander'd late,
And heard the voice of love;
The turtle thus address'd her mate,
And sooth'd the list'ning dove:

8. "Our mutual bond of faith and truth,
No time shall disengage;
Those blessings of our early youth,
Shall cheer our latest age..

4. While innocence without disguise,
And constancy sincere,

Shall fill the circles of those eyes,
And mine can read them there;

5. Those ills that wait on all below
Shall ne'er be felt by me;
Or, gently felt, and only so,
As being shar'd with thee.

6. When lightnings flash among the trees
Or kites are hov'ring near,

I fear lest thee alone they seize,
And know no other fear.

7. 'Tis then I feel myself a wife,
And press thy wedded side,
Resolv'd a union form'd for life
Death rever shall divide.

8. But, oh! if, fickle and unchaste,
(Forgive a transient thought,)
Thou couldst become unkind at last,
And scorn thy present lot,

9. No need of lightnings from on high,
Or kites with cruel beak;

L

Denied th' endearments of thine eye,
This widow'd heart would break."

10 Thus sang the sweet sequester'd bird,
Soft as the passing wind;

And I recorded what I heard,

A lesson for mankind.

SECTION VII..

The Goldfinches.

1. ALL in a garden, on a currant bush,
Two Goldfinches had built their airy seat;
In the next orchard liv'd a friendly thrush,
Nor distant far, a woodlark's soft retreat.

OOWPER

2. Here, blest with ease, and in each other blest,
With early songs they wak'd the neighb'ring groves;
Till time matur'd their joy, and crown'd their nest
With infant pledges of their faithful loves.

8. And now, what transport giow'd in either's eye!
What equal fondness dealt th' allotted food!
What joy each other's likeness to descry,

And future sonnets in the chirping brood! 4. But ah! what earthly happiness can last? How does the fairest purpose often fail! A truant school-boy's wantonness could blast Their flattering hopes, and leave them both to wail. 5. The most ungentle of his tribe was he; No gen'rous precept ever touch'd his heart: With concord false, and hideous prosody,

He scrawl'd his task, and blunder'd o'er his part.
6. On mischief bent, he mark'd with rav'nous eyes,
Where, wrapt in down, the callow songsters lay
Then rushing, rudely seiz'd the glitt❜ring prize,
And bore it in his impious hands away!

7. But how shall I describe, in numbers rude,
The pangs for poor Chrysomitris decreed,
When, from her secret stand, aghast, she view'd
The cruel spoiler perpetrate the deed?

8. "O grief of griefs !" with shrieking voice she cried,
"What sight is this that I have liv'd to see!
O! that I had in youth's fair season died,
From all false joys, and bitter sorrows free.
9. Was it for this, alas! with weary bill,
Was it for this I pois'd th' unwieldy straw;
For this I bore the moss from yonder hill,

Nor shunn'd the pond'rous stick along to draw?
10. Was it for this I pick'd the wool with care,
Intent with nicer skill our work to crown;
For this, with pain, I bent the stubborn hair,
And lin'd our cradle with the thistle's down?
11. Was it for this my freedom I resign'd,
And ceas'd to rove at large from plain to plain;
For this I sat at home whole days confin'd,

To bear the scorching heat, and pealing rain?
12. Was it for this my watchful eyes grew dim?
For this the roses on my cheek turn pale?
Pale is my golden plumage, once so trim!
my wonted mirth and spirits fail!"

And all

13. Thus sung the mournful bird her piteous tale ;-
The piteous tale her mournful mate return'd:
Then side by side they sought the distant vale;
And there in secret sadness inly mourn'd.

SECTION VIII.

The pet Lamb.

JAGO.

1. THE dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink; I heard a voice; it said, "Drink, pretty creature, drink!" And, looking o'er the hedge, before me I espied,

A snow-white mountain Lamb, with a maiden at its side. 2. No other sheep were near, the Lainb was all alone, And by a slender cord was tether'd to a stone; With one knee on the grass did the little maiden kneel, While to the mountain Lamb she gave its evening meal 3. 'Twas little Barbara Lethwaite, a child of beauty rare : I watch'd them with delight; they were a lovely pair.

And now with empty can, the maiden turn'd away,
But ere ten yards were gone her footsteps did she stay.
4. Towards the Lamb she look'd; and from that shady place,
I unobserv'd could see the workings of her face:
If nature to her tongue could measur❜d numbers bring,

Thus, thought I, to her Lamb that little maid would sing. 5. "What ails thee, young one? what? why pull so at thy cord?

Is it not well with thee? well both for bed and board ? Thy plot of grass is soft, and green as grass can be: Rest, little

young one, rest; what is't that aileth thee ? 6. What is it thou would'st seek? What's wanting to thy heart?

Thy limbs are they not strong? and beautiful thou art: This grass is tender grass; these flowers they have no

peers;

And that green corn all day is rustling in thy ears.

7. If the sun is shining hot, do but stretch thy woollen chain, This beech is standing by, its covert thou canst gain : For rain and mountain storms the like thou need'st not fear; The rain and storm are things which scarcely can come here.

8. Rest, little young one, rest; thou hast forgot the day When my father found thee first in places far away: Many flocks were on the hills, but thou wert own'd by

none,

And thy mother from thy side for ever more was gone.

9. He took thee in his arins, and in pity brought thee home; A blessed day for thee! then whither wouldst thou roam ? A faithful nurse thou hast; the dam that did thee yean

Upon the mountain tops, no kinder could have been. 10. Thou know'st that, twice a day, I've brought thee in this can

Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran :

And twice in the day, when the ground is wet with dew, I bring thes draughts of milk, warm milk it is and new.

11. It will not, will not rest!-Poor creature! can it be That 'tis thy mother's heart, which is working so in thee? Things that I know not of perhaps to thee are dear,

And dreams of things which thou canst neither see nor hear.

12. Alas! the mountain tops that look so green and fair ;I've heard of fearful winds and darkness that come there: The little brooks, that seem all pastime and all play, When they are angry, roar like lions for their prey. 13. Here thou need'st not dread the raven in the sky; He will not come to thee; our cottage is hard by. Night and day thou art safe as living thing can be: Be happy then and rest; what is't that aileth thee ?”

SECTION IX.

WORDSWORTH.

The Farmer, the Spaniel, and the Cat.

1. As at his board a farmer sat,
Replenish'd by his homely treat,

Hie fav'rite Spaniel near him stood,
And with his master shar'd the food;
The crackling bones his jaws devour'd,
His lapping tongue the trenchers scour❜d;
Till, sated now, supine he lay,
And snor'd the rising fumes away.
2. The hungry Cat, in turn drew near,
And humbly crav'd a servant's share.
Her modest worth the master knew,
And straight the fatt'ning morsel threw.
8. Enrag'd, the snarling cur awoke,
And thus with spiteful envy spoke:
"They only claim a right to eat,
Who carn by services their meat
Me, zeal and industry inflame*

To scour the fields, and spring the game;
Or, plunged in the wint'ry wave,
For man the wounded bird to save.

4. With watchful diligence I keep

From prowling wolves his fleecy sheep;