Ev'n there I found him, there the full-grown cat
His head, with velvet paw, did gently pat;
As curious as the kittens erst had been
To learn what this phenomenon might mean.
Fill'd with heroick ardour at the sight,
And fearing every moment he would bite,
And rob our household of our only cat,
That was of age to combat with a rat ;

With outstretch'd hoe I slew him at the door,

And taught him NEVER TO COME THERE NO MORE

ON FRIENDSHIP.

Amicitia nisi inter bonos esse non potest.... Cicero

[1782.]

WHAT virtue can we name, or grace,

But men unqualified and base

Will boast it their possession?

Profusion apes the noble part
Of liberality of heart,

And dulness of discretion.

But as the gem of richest cost
Is ever counterfeited most,
So, always, imitation
Employs the utmost skill she can
To counterfeit the faithful man,
The friend of long duration.

Some will pronounce me too severe—
But long experience speaks me clear;
Therefore that censure scorning,

I will proceed to mark the shelves, 'On which so many dash themselves, And give the simple warning.

Youth, unadmonish'd by a guide,
Will trust to any fair outside:

An errour soon corrected;

For who, but learns, with riper years, That man, when smoothest he appears, Is most to be suspected!

But here again a danger lies
Lest, thus deluded by our eyes,

And taking trash for treasure,
We should, when undeceiv'd, conclude
Friendship, imaginary good,

A mere Utopian pleasure.

An acquisition, rather rare,
Is yet no subject of despair;

Nor should it seem distressful,

If either on forbidden ground,
Or, where it was not to be found,
We sought it unsuccessful.

No friendship will abide the test
That stands on sordid interest

And mean self-love ereviou Nor such, as may awhile subsist 'Twixt sensualist and sensualist,

For vicious ends connected.

Who hopes a friend, should have a heart, Himself, well furnish'd for the part,

And ready on occasion

To show the virtue that he seeks;

For 'tis an union that bespeaks

A just reciprocation.

A fretful temper will divide
The closest knot that may be tied,
By ceaseless sharp corrosion ·
A temper passionate and fierce
May suddenly your joys disperse
At one immense explosion.

In vain the talkative unite
With hope of permanent delight,
The secret just committed:
They drop through mere desire to prate,
Forgetting its important weight,
And by themselves outwitted.

How bright soc'er the prospect seems,
All thoughts of friendship are but dreame
If enyy chance to creep in ;
An envious man, if you succeed,
May prove a dang'rous foe indeed,
But not a friend worth keeping.

As envy pines at good possess'd,
So jealousy looks forth distress'd

On good that seems approaching,
And, if success his steps attend,
Discerns a rival in a friend,

And hates him for encroaching.

Hence authors of illustrious name,
(Unless belied by common fame,)

Are sadly prone to quarrel;
To deem the wit a friend displays
So much of loss to their own praise,
And pluck each other's laurel.

A man renowned for repartee,
Will seldom scruple to make free

With friendship's finest feeling,

Will thrust a dagger at your breast
And tell you, 'twas a special jest,

By way of balm for healing.

Beware of tattlers; keep your ear
Close stopp'd against the tales they bear;
Fruits of their own invention;

The separation of chief friends
Is what their kindness most intends;
Their sport is your dissension.

Friendship that wantonly admits
A joco-serious play of wits
In brilliant altercation,

Is union such as indicates,
Like hand-in-hand insurance-plates,
Danger of conflagration.

Some fickle creatures boast a soul
True as the needle to the pole ;

Yet shifting, like the weather,
The needle's constancy forego
For any novelty, and show

Its variations rather

Insensibility makes some
Unseasonably deaf and dumb,

When most you need their pity;
'Tis waiting till the tears shall fall
From Gog and Magog in Guildhall,
Those playthings of the city.

The great and small but rarely meet
On terms of amity complete:

Th' attempt would scarce be madder,
Should any, from the bottom, hope
At one huge stride to reach the top
Of an erected ladder.

Courtier and patriot cannot mix
Their het'rogeneous politicks

Without an effervescence,

Such as of salts with lemon juice
But which is rarely known t' induce,
Like that, a coalescence.

Religion should extinguish strife,
And make a calm of human life.
But even those who differ

Only on topicks left at large,

How fiercely will they meet and charge. No combatants are stiffer.

To prove, alas! my main intent,
Needs no great cost of argument,

No cutting and contriving;

Sceking a real friend, we secm
T'adopt the chymist's golden dream
With still less hope of thriving.

Then judge, or ere you choose your man As circumspectly as you can,

And, having made election, See that no disrespect of yours, Such as a friend but ill endures, Enfeeble his affection.

It is not timber, lead, and stone,
An architect requires alone,
To finish a great building;

The palace were but half complete.
Could he by any chance forget
The carving and the gilding,

As similarity of mind,

Or something not to be defin'd,

First rivets our attention;