THE ROSE. THE rose had been wash'd, just wash'd in a show'r, The plentiful moisture encumber'd the flow'r, The cup was all fill'd, and the leaves were all wet, And it seem'd to a fanciful view, To weep for the buds it had left with regret, On the flourishing bush where it grew. I hastily seiz'd it, unfit as it was For a nosegay, so dripping and drown'd, And such, I exclaim'd, is the pitiless part This elegant rose, had I shaken it less, Might have bloom'd with it's owner a while; And the tear, that is wip'd with a little address, May be follow'd perhaps by a smile. THE DOVES. I. REAS'NING at ev'ry step he treads, Man yet mistakes his way, While meaner things, whom instinct leads, Are rarely known to stray. II. One silent eve I wander'd late, And heard the voice of love; The turtle thus address'd her mate, Our mutual bond of faith and truth No time shall disengage, Those blessings of our early youth IV. While innocence without disguise, Shall fill the circles of those eyes, And mine can read them there; ས. Those ills, that wait on all below, Or gently felt, and only so, As being shar'd with thee. VI. When lightnings flash among the trees, Or kites are hov'ring near, I fear lest thee alone they seize, And know no other fear. VII. "Tis then I feel myself a wife, VIII. But oh! if, fickle and unchaste, (Forgive a transient thought) Thou could become unkind at last, And scorn thy present lot, IX. 1 No need of lightnings from on high, Or kites with cruel beak: Denied th' endearments of thine eye, X. Thus sang the sweet sequester'd bird, Soft as the passing wind, And I recorded what I heard, A lesson for mankind. A FABLE. A Raven, while with glossy breast Shook the young leaves about her ears, } Lest the rude blast should snap the bough, (For ravens, though as birds of omen They teach both conj'rers and old women, To tell us what is to befall, Can't prophesy themselves at all.) The morning came, when neighbour Hodge, And destin'd all the treasure there Climb'd like a squirrel to his dray, MORAL. 'Tis Providence alone secures In ev'ry change both mine and yours: From danegrs of a frightful shape; |