LXI THE MOUSE'S PETITION Oh, hear a pensive prisoner's prayer, And never let thine heart be shut For here forlorn and sad I sit, And tremble at the approaching morn, If e'er thy breast with freedom glowed, Oh, do not stain with guiltless blood Nor triumph that thy wiles betrayed The scattered gleanings of a feast The cheerful light, the vital air, The common gifts of heaven. Beware, lest in the worm you crush, And tremble lest thy luckless hand Or if this transient gleam of day So may thy hospitable board With health and peace be crowned; And every charm of heartfelt ease Beneath thy roof be found. So when destruction works unseen, LXII A. L. Barbauld THE GRASSHOPPER Happy insect! what can be Thou dost drink, and dance, and sing, All the fields which thou dost see, Nor does thy luxury destroy. The shepherd gladly heareth thee, More harmonious than he. Thee, country minds with gladness hear, Prophet of the ripened year: Thee Phoebus loves and does inspire; Phoebus is himself thy sire. To thee of all things upon earth, Life is no longer than thy mirth. Dost neither age nor winter know : But when thou'st drunk, and danced, and sung Thy fill, the flowery leaves among (Voluptuous and wise withal, Epicurean animal) Sated with the summer feast Thou retir'st to endless rest. A. Cowley LXIII THE SHEPHERD'S HOME My banks they are furnished with bees, My grottoes are shaded with trees, And my hills are white over with sheep. I seldom have met with a loss, Such health do my fountains bestow; My fountains all bordered with moss, Where the harebells and violets blow Not a pine in the grove is there seen, But a sweet-briar entwines it around. I have found out a gift for my fair, I have found where the wood-pigeons breed ; But let me such plunder forbear, She will say 'twas a barbarous deed; For he ne'er could be true, she averred, Who would rob a poor bird of its young; And I loved her the more when I heard Such tenderness fall from her tongue. W. Shenstone LXIV THE LORD OF BURLEIGH In her ear he whispers gaily, He to lips that fondly falter, Love will make our cottage pleasant, Lay betwixt his home and hers; Built for pleasure and for state. Where they twain will spend their days. O, but she will love him truly! He shall have a cheerful home; She will order all things duly, When beneath his roof they come. Thus her heart rejoices greatly, Till a gateway she discerns. |