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6

Be warn'd by this, each lowly maid,
Nor by ambition be betray'd.

That lover's suit be still denied,
Who will not own you for his bride.
Sad is the lesson taught you here,—
Ah! hapless maid of Buttermere.

XVII.

MY MISTRESS.

BY COWPER.

1

YE minor beauties of the night,
That poorly satisfy our eyes
More by your numbers than your light,
You common people of the skies,
What are you when the sun shall rise?

2

Ye curious chaunters of the wood,

That warble forth dame Nature's lays, Thinking your passions understood

By your weak accents, what's your praise When Philomel her voice shall raise?

3

Ye violets that first appear,

By your pure purple mantles known,
Like the proud virgins of the year,
As if the spring was all your own,
What are you when the Rose is blown?

4

So, when my mistress does appear,
In sweetness of her looks and mind,
By Virtue first, then choice approv'd,
Tell me if she was not design'd
T'eclipse the glory of her kind?

XVIII.

THE HAPPY PAIR.

FROM THE GOSSIP'S STORY.

BY MRS. WEST.

1

Go, daughters of fashion, for pleasure.repine,

The joys ye pursue are not equal to mine;
The humours of thousands for your's must agree,

Mine center in Henry, and Henry's in me.

2

The rose thrice hath bloom'd on the chaplet of May,

Since I bow'd at the altar, and vow'd to obey ; Talk not of restrictions, the band I approve, 'Tis sanction'd by reason, religion, and love.

3

Gay carols the lark as we rise in the morn, And at evening the blackbird chaunts sweet on the thorn,

We join in the concert, why should we refrain? Our hearts are as grateful, as lively our strain.

4

We bask in the sunshine which summer supplies,
And count, fertile autumn! thy exquisite dies;
No terror in ice-mantled winter we see,
A book and a song still can conquer ennui.

5

Domestic, yet cheerful, delighted to blend,
By prudent attentions, the lover and friend,
In wedlock's full cup we some bitters expect,
And allow for the frailties we try to correct.

6

Tho' shunning the many, wild Comus's crew, For social enjoyment we chuse but a few; Those few round our table shall frequently meet, Sincere be the welcome, and simple the treat.

7

Our boy on my bosom I cherish with pride,
He calls to those duties we gladly divide;
May he live when our limit of being is done,
And our names and our virtues survive in our son.

XIX.

THE WIFE's DITTY.

1

JOHNNY's left me for a while,
O'er the mountains he's away,
May he wander free from toil,
May his hours be blythe and gay.

Let not rains or rushing rills

E'er his winding way oppose,

Nor piercing winds, nor craggy hills,
Nor hard'ning frosts, nor fleeting snows.

2

When the dusk of eve appears,

May no will-a-wisp mislead;
May the roof of mirth be near,

Sweet refreshing sleep succeed.

While from day to day he roves,
Forc'd so far, so long to roam,
He'll think on her he fondly loves,
For Johnny's heart is still at home.

3

Her thoughts are with him where he strays, Go where he will, she'll swift pursue, O'er dreary heaths, or peopled ways,

She'll have his image still in view.-
And when her Johnny comes to rest,
And counts his tedious travels o'er,

She'll clasp him to her faithful breast,
He's come to leave his love no more.

XX.

THE WIFE's INVOCATION.

BY GEORGE WITHER.

1

No Joy or Grief can in this Life,

More sweet or bitter be,

Than, when the Husband and the Wife,

Shall well, or ill, agree.

2

Where they shall rightly sympathise,

The dearest Friendship grows; But, if, betwixt them, strife arise, They prove the greatest foes.

3

Lord! rectify our hearts, therefore,
And sanctify them so,

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