ON A FAVORITE CAT

229

ON A FAVORITE CAT, DROWNED IN A TUB OF GOLDFISHES 1

"T WAS on a lofty vase's side
Where China's gayest art had dyed
The azure flowers that blow,
Demurest of the tabby kind,

The pensive Selima, reclined,
Gazed on the lake below.

Her conscious tail her joy declared:
The fair, round face, the snowy beard,
The velvet of her paws,

Her coat that with the tortoise vies,
Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,
She saw, and purred applause.

Still had she gazed, but 'midst the tide
Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The Genii of the stream:

Their scaly armor's Tyrian hue,

Through richest purple, to the view

Betrayed a golden gleam.

The hapless Nymph with wonder saw :

A whisker first, and then a claw,

With many an ardent wish,

She stretched, in vain, to reach the prize,-
What female heart can gold despise?

What cat's averse to fish?

1 Note 18.

Presumptuous maid! with looks intent,
Again she stretched, again she bent,
Nor knew the gulf between,
Malignant Fate sat by and smiled,
The slippery verge her feet beguiled;
She tumbled headlong in!

Eight times emerging from the flood,
She mewed to every watery god
Some speedy aid to send :

No Dolphin came, no Nereid stirred,

Nor cruel Tom nor Susan heard, -
A favorite has no friend!

From hence, ye Beauties! undeceived,
Know one false step is ne'er retrieved,
And be with caution bold:

Not all that tempts your wandering eyes
And heedless hearts is lawful prize,

Nor all that glisters gold!

Thomas Gray.

COUNTY GUY

Ан, County Guy! the hour is nigh,

The sun has left the lea,

The orange flower perfumes the bower,
The breeze is on the sea.

The lark, his lay who trilled all day,
Sits hushed his partner nigh;

Breeze, bird, and flower confess the hour,
But where is County Guy?

NIGHT

The village maid steals through the shade,

Her shepherd's suit to hear;
To beauty shy, by lattice high,
Sings high-born Cavalier.
The star of Love, all stars above,

Now reigns o'er earth and sky;
And high and low the influence know
But where is County Guy?

231

Sir Walter Scott.

NIGHT

THE sun descending in the west,
The evening star does shine;
The birds are silent in their nest,
And I must seek for mine.
The moon, like a flower
In heaven's high bower,
With silent delight

Sits and smiles on the night.

Farewell, green fields and happy groves,
Where flocks have ta'en delight;
Where lambs have nibbled, silent moves
The feet of angels bright;
Unseen, they pour blessing,
And joy without ceasing,
On each bud and blossom,
And each sleeping bosom.

They look in every thoughtless nest,
Where birds are covered warm,

They visit caves of every beast,
To keep them all from harm:
If they see any weeping

That should have been sleeping,

They pour sleep on their head,
And sit down by their bed.

William Blake.

NOTES

NOTE 1. Epitaph on a Hare.

Cowper has written a charming prose description of the two wild English hares that he succeeded in partially taming, and that amused and comforted many melancholy hours.

NOTE 2. A Boy's Song.

James Hogg, the "Ettrick Shepherd," is a rare instance of native, untaught genius. He herded sheep from the time he was seven years old until he was thirty; and though he had learned to read in his few months of schooling, it was not until manhood that he mastered the art of writing. Sir Walter Scott was his true friend, and gave him constant aid and encouragement. His best poems are both simple and spirited, showing a fine sympathy for nature and outdoor life.

NOTE 3. Auld Robin Gray.

Lady Anne Lindsay, when a girl of twenty-one, wrote this famous poem to the music of an old Scotch melody. It is now sung to a different air.

NOTE 4. Song of Marion's Men.

Francis Marion, a Revolutionary officer, born in South Carolina. He trained a brigade of bold and adventurous frontiersmen, who made the forests and swamps of Carolina their hiding-ground. They knew every inch of these gloomy and treacherous woods, and were able, with little danger to themselves, to continually attack and harass the British forces. His exploits have passed into song and story; his courage, endurance, and gay defiance of all dangers and hardships, halo his name with romance. While this poem has little of Bryant's customary finish, it is spirited, and contains at least one charming line, "Well knows the fair and friendly moon."