XVII.

ON A PICTURE BY J. M. WRIGHT, ESQ.

[Engraved for the Keepsake of 1829.]

1.

THE sky-lark hath perceived his prison-door
Unclosed; for liberty the captive tries:
Puss eagerly hath watched him from the floor,
And in her grasp he flutters, pants, and dies.

2.

Lucy's own Puss, and Lucy's own dear Bird,
Her foster'd favourites both for many a day,
That which the tender-hearted girl preferr'd,
She in her fondness knew not sooth to say.

3.

For if the sky-lark's pipe were shrill and strong,
And its rich tones the thrilling ear might please,
Yet Pussybel could breathe a fireside song
As winning, when she lay on Lucy's knees.

4.

Both knew her voice, and each alike would seek Her eye, her smile, her fondling touch to gain: How faintly then may words her sorrow speak, When by the one she sees the other slain.

5.

The flowers fall scatter'd from her lifted hands;
A cry of grief she utters in affright;
And self-condemn'd for negligence she stands
Aghast and helpless at the cruel sight.

6.

Come, Lucy, let me dry those tearful eyes; Take thou, dear child, a lesson not unholy, From one whom nature taught to moralize Both in his mirth and in his melancholy.

7.

I will not warn thee not to set thy heart
Too fondly upon perishable things;
In vain the earnest preacher spends his art
Upon that theme; in vain the poet sings.

8.

It is our nature's strong necessity,

And this the soul's unerring instincts tell: Therefore I say, let us love worthily,

Dear child, and then we cannot love too well.

9.

Better it is all losses to deplore,

Which dutiful affection can sustain,

Than that the heart should, in its inmost core, Harden without it, and have lived in vain.

10.

This love which thou hast lavish'd, and the woe Which makes thy lip now quiver with distress, Are but a vent, an innocent overflow,

From the deep springs of female tenderness.

11.

And something I would teach thee from the grief That thus hath fill'd those gentle eyes with tears, The which may be thy sober, sure relief

When sorrow visits thee in after

12.

I ask not whither is the spirit flown

years.

That lit the eye which there in death is seal'd; Our Father hath not made that mystery known; Needless the knowledge, therefore not reveal'd.

13.

But didst thou know in sure and sacred truth,
It had a place assign'd in yonder skies,
There through an endless life of joyous youth,
To warble in the bowers of Paradise;

14.

Lucy, if then the power to thee were given
In that cold form its life to re-engage,

Wouldst thou call back the warbler from its Heaven
To be again the tenant of a cage?

15.

Only that thou might'st cherish it again,

Wouldst thou the object of thy love recall

To mortal life, and chance, and change, and pain, And death, which must be suffered once by all?

16.

Oh, no, thou say'st: oh, surely not, not so!
I read the answer which those looks express
pure
and true affection well I know
Leaves in the heart no room for selfishness.

For

17.

Such love of all our virtues is the gem;

We bring with us the immortal seed at birth : Of heaven it is, and heavenly; woe to them Who make it wholly earthly and of earth!

18.

What we love perfectly, for its own sake
We love and not our own, being ready thus
Whate'er self-sacrifice is ask'd, to make;
That which is best for it, is best for us.

19.

O Lucy! treasure up that pious thought!

It hath a balm for sorrow's deadliest darts; And with true comfort thou wilt find it fraught,

If grief should reach thee in thy heart of hearts.

Buckland, 1828.

XVIII.

1.

My days among the Dead are past;
Around me I behold,

Where'er these casual eyes are cast,
The mighty minds of old;
My never failing friends are they,
With whom I converse day by day.

2.

With them I take delight in weal,
And seek relief in woe;
And while I understand and feel
How much to them I owe,

My cheeks have often been bedew'd
With tears of thoughtful gratitude.

3.

My thoughts are with the Dead, with them I live in long-past years,

Their virtues love, their faults condemn,

Partake their hopes and fears,

And from their lessons seek and find
Instruction with an humble mind.