No wailing ghost shall dare appear To vex with shrieks this quiet grove; But shepherd lads assemble here, And melting virgins own their love. No wither'd witch shall here be seen; No goblins lead their nightly crew: The female Fays shall haunt the green, And dress thy grave with pearly dew! The redbreast oft, at evening hours, Shall kindly lend his little aid, 5 10 With hoary moss and gather'd flowers, 15 To deck the ground where thou art laid. When howling winds and beating rain, In tempests shake the sylvan cell; Or 'midst the chase, on every plain, The tender thought on thee shall dwell; 20 COLLINS. Each lonely scene shall thee restore; For thee the tear be duly shed; Beloved till life can charm no more, And mourn'd till pity's self be dead. THE CHAMELEON. OFT has it been my lot to mark To see, whatever could be seen. 5 Whatever word you chance to drop, Two travellers of such a cast, 66 A stranger animal," cries one, "Hold there," the other quick replies, 10 15 20 25 30 "I've seen it, Sir, as well as you, 35 And must again affirm it blue ; At leisure I the beast survey'd Extended in the cooling shade." ""T is green, 't is green, Sir, I assure ye." "Green!" cries the other in a fury, 40 "Why, Sir, d'ye think I've lost my eyes?" So high at last the contest rose, To him the question they referr'd; 45 50 "Sirs," cries the umpire, "cease your pother; The creature's neither one nor t' other. I caught the animal last night, And view'd it o'er by candlelight: I mark'd it well; 't was black as jet. 55 You stare: but, Sirs, I've got it yet, And can produce it." "Pray, Sir, do; "And I'll be sworn that, when you've seen "Well then, at once to ease the doubt," 60 65 (Then first the creature found a tongue,) "You all are right and all are wrong: When next you talk of what you view, 70 Think others see as well as you; Nor wonder, if you find that none ALEXANDER SELKIRK. I AM monarch of all I survey, My right there is none to dispute, From the centre all round to the sea, I am lord of the fowl and the brute. O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face? Better dwell in the midst of alarms, Than reign in this horrible place. I am out of humanity's reach, MERRICK 5 I must finish my journey alone, 10 Never hear the sweet music of speech, I start at the sound of my own. The beasts that roam over the plain My form with indifference see; They are so unacquainted with man,— 15 Their tameness is shocking to me. Society, friendship, and love, Divinely bestow'd upon man, How soon would I taste you again ! Religion! what treasure untold Resides in that heavenly word' 20 25 More precious than silver and gold, Ye winds, that have made me your sport, Some cordial endearing report Of a land I shall visit no more. My friends, do they now and then send 30 35 O tell me I yet have a friend, Though a friend I am never to see. 40 How fleet is a glance of the mind! Compared with the speed of its flight, The tempest itself lags behind, And the swift-winged arrows of light. But the sea-fowl is gone to her nest, And I to my cabin repair. And reconciles man to his lot. 45 50 COWPER. |