In sleep he seem'd to view For, aided both by ear and scent, Minute the horrors that ensued; His teeth were strong, the cage was woodHe left poor Bully's beak. O had he made that too his prey! Might have repaid him well, I wote, Maria weeps the Muses mourn- The tree-enchanter Orpheus fell, THE ROSE. THE rose had been wash'd, just wash'd in a Which Mary to Anna convey'd, [shower, The plentiful moisture encumber'd the flower, And weigh'd down its beautiful head. The cup was all fill'd, and the leaves were all wet To weep for the buds it had left, with regret, I hastily seized it, unfit as it was For a nosegay, so dripping and drown'd, And such, I exclaim'd, is the pitiless part Regardless of wringing and breaking a heart This elegant rose, had I shaken it less, Might have bloom'd with its owner a while; And the tear, that is wiped with a little address May be follow'd perhaps by a smile. THE DOVES. REASONING at every step he treads, While meaner things, whom instinct leads, One silent eve I wander'd late, Our mutual bond of faith and truth While innocence without disguise Shall fill the circles of those eyes, Those ills that wait on all below, When lightnings flash among the trees, I fear lest thee alone they seize, "Tis then I feel myself a wife, But oh! if, fickle and unchaste, No need of lightnings from on high, Denied the endearments of thine eye, Thus sang the sweet sequester'd bird, Soft as the passing wind, And I recorded what I heard, A lesson for mankind. A FABLE. A RAVEN, While with glossy breast Shook the young leaves about her ears, "Tis over, (For ravens, though, as birds of omen, They teach both conjurers and old women To tell us what is to befall, Can't prophesy themselves at all.) The morning came, when neighbour Hodge, Who long had mark'd her airy lodge, |