The flowering thorn, self-taught to wind,
The hazle's stubborn stem entwin'd,
And bramble twigs were wreath'd around,
And rough furze crept along the ground.
Here sheltering, from the sons of murther,
The hares drag their tired limbs no further.
But lo, the western wind ere long
Was loud, and roar'd the woods among i

From rustling leaves, and crashing boughs,
The sound of wo and war arose.

The hares distracted scour the grove,

As terror and amazement drove ; ...

But danger, wheresoe'er they fled, on pra
Still seem'd impending o'er their head.
Now crowded in a grotto's gloom,
All hope extinct, they wait their doom.
Dire was the silence, till, at length,
Even from despair deriving strength,
With bloody eye, and furious look,
A daring youth arose and spoke.

"O wretched race, the scorn of Fate, "Whom ills of every sort await!

to feel

"Oh, curs'd with keenest sense to

"The sharpest sting of every

ill!

"Say ye, who, fraught with mighty scheme,

"Of liberty and vengeance dream,

"What now remains? To what recess
"Shall we our weary steps address,
"Since Fate is evermore pursuing
"All ways and means to work our rain ?
"Are we alone, of all beneath,
"Condemn'd to misery worse than death!
"Must we, with fruitless labour, strive
"In misery worse than death to live!

་

"No. Be the smaller ill our choice:
"So dictates Nature's powerful voice.
"Death's pang will in a moment cease;
"And then, All hail, eternal peace!"
Thus while he spoke, his words impart
The dire resolve to every heart.

A distant lake in prospect lay,
That, glittering in the solar ray,
Gleam'd thro' the dusky trees, and shot
A trembling light along the grot.
Thither with one consent they bend,
Their sorrows with their lives to end,
While each, in thought, already hears
The water hissing in his ears.

Fast by the margin of the lake,
Conceal'd within a thorny brake,
A Linnet sate, whose careless lay
Amus'd the solitary day.
Careless he sung, for on his breast
Sorrow no lasting trace impress'd;
When suddenly he heard a sound
Of swift feet traversing the ground.
Quick to the neighbouring tree he flies,
Thence trembling casts around his eyes;
No foe appear'd, his fears were vain ;
Pleas'd he renews the sprightly strain.

The hares, whose noise had caus'd his fright,

Saw with surprise the linnet's flight.

Is there on earth a wretch, they said,

Whom our approach can strike with dread ?
An instantaneous change of thought

To tumult every bosom wrought.
So fares the system-building sage,

Who, plodding on from youth to age,

E

At last on some foundation-dream
Has rear'd aloft his goodly scheme,
And prov'd his predecessors fools,
And bound all Nature by his rules;
So fares he in that dreadful hour,
When injur'd Truth exerts her power, --
Some new phenomenon to raise :
Which, bursting on his frighted gaze,
From its proud summit to the ground
Proves the whole edifice unsound.

"Children," thus spoke a hare sedate, Who oft had known th' extremes of fate, "In slight events the docile mind "May hints of good instruction find. "That our condition is the worst,

"And we with such misfortunes curs'd

"As all comparison defy,

"Was late the universal cry,

"When, lo, an accident so slight "As yonder little linnet's flight,

"Has made your stubborn heart confess "(So your amazement bids me guess) "That all our load of woes and fears "Is but a part of what he bears. "Where can he rest secure from harms, "Whom even a helpless hare alarms? "Yet he repines not at his lot,

"When past, the danger is forgot ;

"On yonder bough he trims his wings,

"And with unusual rapture sings:

"While we, less wretched, sink beneath

"Our lighter ills, and rush to death. "No more of this unmeaning rage,

"But hear, my friends, the words of age.

"When by the winds of autumn driven, "The scatter'd clouds fly cross the heaven,

"Oft have we, from some mountain's head,
"Beheld th' alternate light and shade

66

Sweep the long vale. Here hovering lowers "The shadowy cloud; there downwards pours, "Streaming direct, a flood of day,

"Which from the view flies swift away;

It flies, while other shades advance, "And other streaks of sunshine glance. "Thus chequer'd is the life below "With gleams of joy and clouds of wo. "Then hope not, while we journey on, "Still to be basking in the sun :

"N or fear, tho' now in shades ye mourn, "That sunshine will no more return. "If, by your terrors overcome, "Ye fly before th' approaching gloom, "The rapid clouds your flight pursue, "And darkness stillo'ercasts your view. "Who longs to reach the radiant plain, "Must onward urge his course amain; "For doubly swift the shadow flies, "When 'gainst the gale the pilgrim plies. "At least be firm, and undismay'd "Maintain your ground! the fleeting shade "Ere long spontaneous glides away, "And gives you back th' enlivening ray. "Lo, while I speak, our danger past! "No more the shrill horn's angry blast "Howls in our ear; the savage roar "Of war and murder is no more. "Then snatch the moment fate allows, "Nor think of past or future woes."

He spoke; and hope revives; the lake
That instant one and all forsake,

In sweet amusement to employ
The present sprightly hour of joy.

Now from the western mountain's brow,
Compass'd with clouds of various glow,
The sun a broader orb displays,
And shoots aslope his ruddy rays.
The lawn assumes a fresher green,
And dew-drops spangle all the scene.
The balmy zephyr breathes along,
The shepherd sings his tender song,
With all their lays the groves resound,
And falling waters murmur round,
Discord and care were put to flight,
And all was peace and calm delight.