SIR, when I flew to seize the bird
In spite of your command,
A louder voice than yours I heard,
And harder to withstand.
You cried-Forbear-but in my breast
A mightier cried-Proceed-
'Twas Nature, Sir, whose strong behest
Impell❜d me to the deed.
Yet much as Nature I respect,
I ventured once to break
(As you, perhaps, may recollect),
Her precept for your sake;
And when your linnet on a day,
Passing his prison door,
Had flutter'd all his strength away,
And, panting, press'd the floor,
Well knowing him a sacred thing,
Not destined to my tooth,
I only kiss'd his ruffled wing,
And lick'd the feathers smooth.
my obedience then excuse
My disobedience now,
Nor some reproof yourself refuse
From your aggrieved Bow-wow.
If killing birds be such a crime
(Which I can hardly see),
What think you, Sir, of killing Time,
With verse address'd to me?
REASONING at every step he treads,
Man yet mistakes his way,
While meaner things, whom instinct leads,
Are rarely known to stray.
One silent eve I wander'd late,
And heard the voice of love;
The turtle thus address'd her mate,
And sooth'd the listening dove:
Our mutual bond of faith and truth
No time shall disengage;
Those blessings of our early youth
Shall cheer our latest age:
While innocence without disguise,
And constancy sincere,
Shall fill the circles of those eyes,
And mine can read them there;
Those ills that wait on all below
Shall ne'er be felt by me,
Or gently felt, and only so,
As being shared with thee.
When lightnings flash among the trees,
Or kites are hovering near,
I fear lest thee alone they seize,
And know no other fear.
"Tis then I feel myself a wife,
And press thy wedded side,
Resolved a union form'd for life
Death never shall divide.
But oh! if, fickle and unchaste
(Forgive a transient thought),
Thou could become unkind at last,
And scorn thy present lot;
No need of lightning from on high,
Or kites with cruel beak;
Denied the' endearments of thine eye,
This widow'd heart would break.
Thus sang the sweet sequester'd bird,
Soft as the passing wind,
And I recorded what I heard,
A lesson for mankind.
THE FAITHFUL BIRD.
THE greenhouse is my summer seat; My shrubs displaced from that retreat Enjoy'd the open air;
Two goldfinches, whose sprightly song
Had been their mutual solace long,
Lived happy prisoners there.
They sang as blithe as finches sing
That flutter loose on golden wing,
And frolic where they list;
Strangers to liberty, 'tis true,
But that delight they never knew,
And therefore never miss'd.
But Nature works in every breast
With force not easily suppress'd;
And Dick felt some desires,
That, after many an effort vain,
Instructed him at length to gain
A pass between his wires.
The open'd windows seem'd to' invite
The freeman to a farewell flight;
But Tom was still confined;
And Dick, although his way was clear,
Was much too generous and sincere
To leave his friend behind.
So settling on his cage, by play,
And chirp and kiss, he seem'd to say,
You must not live alone.-
Nor would he quit that chosen stand
Till I, with slow and cautious hand,
Return'd him to his own.
who never taste the joys
Of friendship, satisfied with noise,
Fandango, ball, and rout!
Blush, when I tell you how a bird
A prison with a friend preferr'd
To liberty without.
THE LILY AND THE ROSE.
THE nymph must lose her female friend,
If more admired than she-
But where will fierce contention end
If flowers can disagree?
Within the garden's peaceful scene
Appear'd two lovely foes
Aspiring to the rank of queen,
The Lily and the Rose.
The Rose soon redden'd into rage,
And, swelling with disdain,
Appeal'd to many a poet's page,
To prove her right to reign.
The Lily's height bespoke command,
A fair imperial flower;
She seem'd design'd for Flora's hand,
The sceptre of her power.
This civil bickering and debate
The goddess chanced to hear,
And flew to save, ere yet too late,
The pride of the parterre;
Yours is, she said, the nobler hue,
And yours the statelier mien!
And, till a third surpasses you,
Let each be deem'd a queen.
Thus, sooth'd and reconciled, each seeks
The fairest British fair:
The seat of empire is her cheeks,
They reign united there.
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