Ah! firstborn of thy mother,. My bird when prison bound,- To say, "He has departed," His voice,"-" his face,"-" is gone;" To feel impatient-hearted, Yet feel we must bear on : Ah, I could not endure To whisper of such woe, Yes, still he's fix'd, and sleeping! This silence too the while- Seem whispering us a smile :- Who say, THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS. KING Francis was a hearty king, and lov'd a royal sport, he sigh'd: And truly 'twas a gallant thing to see that crowning show, Ramp'd and roar'd the lions, with horrid laughing jaws ; their paws; With wallowing might and stifled roar, they roll'd on one another, Till all the pit, with sand and mane, was in a thunderous smother; The bloody foam above the bars came whizzing through the air : Said Francis, then, Faith, gentlemen, we're better here than De Lorge's love o'erheard the king, a beauteous, lively dame, With smiling lips and sharp bright eyes, which always seem'd the same; She thought, The count, my lover, is brave as brave can be He bow'd, and in a moment leap'd among the lions wild : "No love," quoth he, "but vanity, sets love a task like that!" THE FISH, THE MAN, AND THE SPIRIT. TO FISH. You strange, astonish'd-looking, angle-fac'd, Cold-blooded, though with red your blood be grac'd, O scaly, slippery, wet, swift, staring wights, How pass your Sundays? Are ye still but joggles A FISH ANSWERS. Amazing monster! that, for aught I know, With the first sight of thee didst make our race Grimly divided from the breast below! With a split body, and most ridiculous pace O breather of unbreathable, sword-sharp air, I sometimes see of ye an actual pair Go by! link'd fin by fin! most odiously. THE FISH TURNS INTO A MAN, AND THEN INTO A SPIRIT, AND AGAIN SPEAKS. Indulge thy smiling scorn, if smiling still, O man! and loathe, but with a sort of love; Live in whate'er has life-fish, eagle, dove- Man's life is warm, glad, sad, 'twixt loves and graves, ABOU BEN ADHEM AND THE ANGEL. ABOU Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) "What writest thou?" The vision rais'd its head, Answer'd, "The names of those who love the Lord." The angel wrote and vanish'd. The next night And shew'd the names whom love of God had bless'd, JOHN CLARE was born at Helpstone, near Peterborough, Northamptonshire, in 1793. His father was a day labourer; and the Poet was acquainted with Poverty long before he associated with the Muse. His manhood has been doomed to a lot as severe, and it would seem that want is his only prospect in old age; for modern legislation has deprived him even of the "hope" on which he reckons, in one of his early poems, as a "last resource," "To claim the humble pittance once a-week, Which justice forces from disdainful pride." The story of his life presents, perhaps, one of the most striking and affecting examples that the history of unhappy genius has ever recorded; illustrating in a sad and grievous manner the misery produced by the gift of mind in a humble station,--by great thoughts nourished in unfitting places. If ever the adage which tells us that a Poet is born a Poet, has been practically realized, it is in the case of the peasant of Northamptonshire. If ever the pursuit of knowledge under difficulties has been made clear beyond a doubt, it is in his case. It is our melancholy task to add-if ever the oft-denied assertion, that genius is but the heritage of woe, may be placed beyond controversy, it is in this instance also. By working "over-hours," he contrived to earn enough to pay for learning to read; the savings of eight weeks sufficed to obtain a month's" schooling:" and his first object having been achieved, his next was to procure books. A shilling made him the master of Thomson's "Seasons;" and he immediately began to compose poetry: but for some time afterwards, being unable to master funds to procure paper, he was compelled to entrust to his memory the preservation of his verses. He lived in the presence of Nature, and worshipped her with a genuine and natural passion: "the common air, the sun, the skies;" the "old familiar faces" of the green fields, with their treasures of blade and wild flower, were the sources of his inspiration; and the people—their customs, their loves, their griefs, and their amusements-were the themes of his verse. Thus he went on, making and writing poetry, for thirteen years, "without having received a single word of encouragement, and without the most distant prospect of reward." Perhaps his destiny would have been happier had he never encountered either. Accident, however, led to the publication of a volume of his Poems: it passed through several editions, and brought money to the writer; a few "noble" patrons doled out some guineas; and we believe that something like an annuity was purchased for the Poet;-several other volumes followed; but the public no longer sympathized when they ceased to be astonished,—and latterly we imagine, not only has the writer received nothing for his productions, but the sale of them has not sufficed to pay the expenses of their publication. Clare has, we understand, made an unsuccessful, indeed a ruinous, attempt to improve his condition, by farming the ground he tilled; and has for some years existed in a state of poverty, as utter and hopeless as that in which he passed his youth. He has a wife and a very large family; and it is stated to us, that at times his mind gives way under the sickness of hope deferred. His appearance, when some years ago it was our lot to know him, was that of a simple rustic; and his manners were remarkably gentle and unassuming. He was short and thick, yet not ungraceful, in person. His coun tenance was plain but agreeable; he had a look and manner so dreamy, as to have appeared sullen-but for a peculiarly winning smile; and his forehead was so broad and high, as to have bordered on deformity. Further, we believe that in his unknown and uncherished youth, and in his after-days when some portion of fame and honour fell to his share, he maintained a fair character, and has subjected himself to no charge more unanswerable than that of indiscretion in applying the very limited funds with which he was furnished after the world heard of his name, and was loud in applause of his genius. It is not yet too late for a hand to reach him; a very envied celebrity may be obtained by some wealthy and good “Samaritan;"-Strawberry Hill might be gladly sacrificed for the fame of having saved Chatterton. We do not place him too high when we rank John Clare at the head of the Poets who were, and continued to be, “uneducated," according to the stricter meaning of the term. The most accomplished of British Poets will not complain at finding him introduced into their society:-setting aside all consideration of the peculiar circumstances CLARE. JUNE. THERE with the scraps of songs, and laugh, and tale, He lightens annual toil, while merry ale Goes round, and glads some old man's heart to praise How the high bowl was in the middle set |