And sought it in the likeliest mode A draw'r, it chanc'd, at bottom lin'd With linen of the softest kind, But all unconscious whom it held. Awaken'd by the shock (cried Puss) "Was ever Cat attended thus! Then came the maid, and it was clos'd: "How "How smooth these 'kerchiefs, and how sweet, "Oh what a delicate retreat! "I will resign myself to rest "Till Sol, declining in the West, "Shall call to supper; when, no doubt, "Susan will come and let me out." The evening came, the Sun descended, And Puss came into mind no more With hunger pinch'd, and pinch'd for room, Nor slept a single wink, or purr'd, Conscious of jeopardy incurr'd. That night, by chance, the Poet watching, Heard an inexplicable scratching; And And doubtful what, with prudent care, At length a voice, which well he knew, Consol'd him, and dispell'd his fears; For 'tis a truth, well known to most, We seek it, ere it come to light, In ev'ry cranny but the right. Fourth skipp'd the Cat; not now replete VOL. I. LL MORAL. MORAL. Beware of too sublime a sense LETTER LXXVI. To JOSEPH HILL, Esqr. Nov. 16, 1787: I thank you for the solicitude that you express on the subject of my present studies. The work is undoubtedly long and laborious, but it has an end, and proceeding leisurely, with a due attention to the use of air and exercise, it is possible that I may live to finish it. Assure yourself of one thing, that though to a bystander it may seem an occupation surpassing the powers of a constitution, never very athletic, and, at present, not a little the worse for wear, I can invent for myself no employment that does not exhaust my spirits more. I will not pretend to account for this, I will only say, that it is not the language of pre dilection dilection for a favorite amusement, but that the fact is really so. I have even found that those plaything avocations which one may execute almost without any attention, fatigue me, and wear me away, while such as engage me much, and attach me closely, are rather serviceable to me than otherwise. W. C. LETTER LXXVII. To Lady HESKETH. The Lodge, Nov. 27, 1787. It is the part of wisdom, my dearest in my Uncle's Cousin, to sit down contented under the demands of necessity, because they are such. I am sensible that you cannot, present infirm state, and of which it is not possible to expect any considerable amendment, indulge either us, or yourself, with a journey to Weston. Yourself, I say, both because I know it will give you pleasure to see Causidice mi* once more, especially in the comfortable abode where you have placed him, and because after so long an imprisonment in London, you, who love the country, and have a taste for it, would of course be glad to return to it. For my own part, to me it is ever new, and though I have now been an inhabitant of this village a twelvemonth, and have during the half of that time been at liberty to expatiate, and to make discoveries, I am daily finding out fresh scenes and walks, which you *The Apellation which Sir Thomas Hesketh used to give him in jest, when he was of the Temple. |