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You cried-Forbear !—but in my breast
A mightier cried-Proceed!

'Twas Nature, Sir, whose strong behest
Impelled me to the deed.

Yet, much as Nature I respect,

I ventured once to break

(As you, perhaps, may recollect)
Her precepts for your sake;

And when your linnet, on a day,
Passing his prison door,

Had fluttered 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.

Let

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?

3 behest, command.

destined, intended for.

4 impelled, drove.

5 precept, order.

7 aggrieved, injured, pained.

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THE ADMIRAL'S GRAVE.

HERE is in the lone, lone sea
A spot unmark'd but holy;
For there the gallant and the free
In his ocean-bed lies lowly.

Down, down, beneath the deep

That oft in triumph bore him,

He sleeps a sound and peaceful sleep
With the wild waves dashing o'er him.

He sleeps!—he sleeps! serene, and safe
From tempest and from billow,
Where storms that high above him chafe
Scarce rock his peaceful pillow.

The sea and him in death

They did not dare to sever:

It was his home when he had breath: 'Tis now his home for ever!

[graphic]

Sleep on, sleep on, thou mighty dead!

A glorious tomb they've found thee; The broad blue sky above thee spread: The boundless ocean round thee.

44

THE BLIND BOY.

[graphic]

SAY what is that thing call'd Light,
Which I must ne'er enjoy ;
What are the blessings of the Sight:
O tell your poor blind boy!

You talk of wondrous things you see;
You say the sun shines bright;

I feel him warm, but how can he
Or1 make it day or night?

My day or night myself I make
Whene'er I sleep or play;

And could I ever keep awake,
With me 'twere always day.

With heavy sighs I often hear
You mourn my hapless woe;
But sure with patience I can bear
A loss I ne'er can know.

Then let not what I cannot have

My cheer of mind destroy: Whilst thus I sing, I am a king, Although a poor blind boy.

1 or, for either.

2 hapless, unhappy.

45

[graphic]

THE LAMB.

ITTLE Lamb who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Gave thee life, and bade thee feed
By the stream and o'er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice,
Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee!

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee.

He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb:-
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child:
I, a child, and thou, a lamb,
We are called by His name.

Little Lamb, God bless thee;
Little Lamb, God bless thee.

46

CASABIANCA.*

A True Story.

THE boy stood on the burning deck,
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle's wreck,
Shone round him o'er the dead.

Yet beautiful and bright he stood,
As born to rule the storm!

A creature of heroic1 blood,
A proud, though childlike form.

The flames rolled on-he would not go
Without his Father's word;
That Father, faint in death below,
His voice no longer heard.

He called aloud: "Say, father, say,
If yet my task is done!"

He knew not that the chieftain2 lay
Unconscious of his son.

"Speak, father!" once again he cried,
"If I may yet be gone!"
And-but the booming shots replied,
And fast the flames rolled on.

* Casabianca was the son of the Admiral of the French fleet that fought the Battle of the Nile in 1798, with the British under Nelson. He and his father were on board the flagship "L'Orient," which caught fire and blew up. The Admiral (Brueyes) had, before that, been killed by a cannon shot.

1

heroic, noble, belonging to a hero.

3 unconscious, not aware.

2 chieftain, the commander.

4 booming, deep sounding.

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