It chanc'd upon a luckless day,
The little wanton, full of play,
Rejoic'd a thimy bank to gain;

But short the triumphs of her reign !
4. The treacherous slopes her fate foretel,

And soon the pretty trifler fell.
Beneath, a dirty ditch impress'd

Its mire upon her spotless vest.
5. What greater ill could lamb betide,

The butcher's barb'rous knife beside ?
The shepherd, wounded with her cries,

Straight to the bleating sufferer flies; 6. The lambkin in his arms he took,

And bore her to a neighb'ring brook.
The silver streams her wool refin'd,

Hér fleece in virgin whiteness shin'd. 7. Clean’d from pollution's every stain,

She join’d her fellows on the plain;
And saw afar the stinking shore,

But ne'er approach'd those dangers more. 8. The shepherd bless'd the kind event,

And view'd his flock with sweet content.
To market next he shap'd his way,
And bought provisions for the day :
But made for winter's rich supply

A purchase from a farmer's sty.
9. The children round their parent crowd;

And testify their mirth aloud.
They saw the stranger with surprise,
And all admired his little eyes;
Familiar grown, he shar’d their joys;
Shar'd too the porridge with the boys.

10. The females o'er his dress preside;

They wash his face and scour his hide ;
But daily more a swine he

grew,
For all these housewives e'er could do.

COTTON.

CHAP. XXV.

The Sweets of Contentment,

Con-tent'-ment, s. without a wish for more; full satisfaction

in one's present state. 1. Am-bi"-ti-on, s. a thirst after greatness or fame; pride.

In-de-pen'-dent, a. not dependent or relying upon another. 3. Me-di-ta’-ti-on, si deep thought. 5. In'-fi-nite, a. having no bounds or limits.

1. No glory I covet, no riches I want,

Ambition is nothing to me;
The one thing I beg of kind heaven to grant,

Is a mind independent and free. 2. With passion unruffled, untainted with pride,

By reason my life let me square:
The wants of my nature are cheaply supplied ;

And the rest is but folly and care. 3. The blessings which Providence freely has lent,

I'll justly and gratefully prize ;
While sweet meditation and cheerful content

Shall make me both healthful and wise. 4. In the pleasures the great man's possessions

display,
Unenvied I'll challenge my part;

For ev'ry fair object my eyes can survey,

Contributes to gladden my heart.

5, How vainly, through infinite trouble and strife,

The many their labours employ!
Since all that is truly delightful in life,
Is what all, if they please, may enjoy.

ΑΝΟΝ.

CHAP. XXVI.

The Call of Gratitude.

2. Myr'-tle, s. a fragrant or sweet-si.xilling kind of shrub.

Her’-bage, s. herbs, grass, pasture.

Sod, s. turf, or the surface of the land. 3. In-sen'-si-ble, a. senseless, void of sense.

Gra''-ti-tude, s. gratefulness, thankfulness. 4. In-ces'-sant-ly, ad. without intermission, always.

1. How cheerful along the gay mead

The daisy and cowslip appear;
The flocks, as they carelessly feed,

Rejoice in the spring of the year.
2. The myrtles that shade-the gay bowers,

The herbage that springs froin the sod,
Trees, plants, cooling fruits, and sweet flowers,
All rise to the praise of my

God. 3. Shall man, the great master of all,

The only insensible prove ?
Forbid it, fair gratitude's call !

Forbid it, devotion and love.

4. The Lord, who such wonders could raise,

And still can destroy with a nod,
My lips shall incessantly praise;

My heart shall rejoice in my God.

CHAP. XXVII.

On the Miseries of Human Life.

1. Li-cen'-ti-ous, a. (pro. li-sen-shus), not restrained by law, morality, or

or religion; unconfined. Proud, s. this word is here used substantively, signifying people

wł hav too high an opinion of their own qualities, and too mean' a one of those which belong to others. It is gene

rally used as an adjective. Af'-flu-ence, s. abundance of wealth. Wan'-ton, a. unrestrained, dissolute, lustful, gay. Ri'-ot, s. wild and loose mirth. An uproar or serious tumult. Ri'-ot, v. to abandon one's-self to pleasure. To feast in a luxu. rious manner.

To raise a sedition or uproar. 4. Ba'le-ful, a. full of anguish, pain, misery; very fatal, or de

structive to health.
5. Sor'-did, a. foul, filthy, dirty, mean.

Po”-ver-ty, s. want of money or necessaries of life.
Re-mor'se,

s. uneasiness, occasioned by a consciousness of guilt. (Pity, tenderness.) Tra"-gic, a. mournful, dreadful, sad, calamitous. 8. Ca-reer', s. course. Very swift motion.

Ap-pal’-led, pret. astonished. Affrighted, terrified.
Di-la'te, v. to overspread, to extend, to spread out.
Bliss, s. happiness, joy arising from the possession of some

great and important good.

1. Au ! little think the gay licentious proud,

Whom pleasure, power, and afluence surround; They, who their thoughtless hours in giddy mirth, And wanton, often cruel, riot waste :

2. Ah! little think they while they dance along,

How many feel, that very moment, death,

And all the sad variety of pain :* 3. How many sink in the devouring flood,+

Or more devouring flame!f how many bleed,

By shameful variance, betwixt man and man: 4. How many pine in want, and dungeon glooms ;

Shut from the common air, and common use
Of their own limbs; how many drink the cup
Of baleful grief, or eat the bitter bread
Of misery: 5. Sore pierc'd by wint'ry winds,
How many shrink into the sordid hut
Of cheerless poverty; how many shake
With all the fiercer tortures of the mind,
Unbounded passion, madness, guilt, remorse ;
Whence tumbled headlong from the height of life,

They furnish matter for the tragic muse : 6. Even in the vale where wisdom loves to dwell,

With friendship, peace and contemplation join'd, How many, rack'd with honest passions, droop In deep retir'd distress : 7. How many stand Around the death-bed of their dearest friends. And point the parting anguish. 8. Thought fond

man Of these, and all the thousand nameless ills,

* Thomson, in these lines, pathetically enumerates the various trials of mankind, with the numerous distresses they are subject to, while in this present state of probation; and justly observes, what good effects might arise from a proper attention to, and observation of them. + The sea.

# Battle. § A tragic writer, or a writer of dramatic poems which represent serious actions, or dreadful events.