First from England's southern shore
'Cross the channel we would soar,
And our vent'rous course advance
To the lively plains of France;
Sport among the feather'd choir
On the verdant banks of Loire,
Skim Garonne's majestic tide
Where Bourdeaux adorns his side;

Cross the towering Pyrenees,

'Mid myrtle groves and orange trees;

Entering then the wild domain

Where wolves prowl round the flocks of Spain,

Where silk-worms spin, and olives grow,

And mules plod surely on and slow.
Steering thus for many a day -
Far to south our course away,
From Gibraltar's rocky steep
Dashing o'er the foaming deep,
On sultry Afric's fruitful shore
We'd rest, at length, our journey o'er,
Till vernal gales should gently play,
To waft us on our homeward way.

LUCY AIKIN.

THE PINE-APPLE AND THE BEE.

THE pine-apples in triple row,

Were basking hot, and all in blow;

▲ bee of most discerning taste
Perceiv'd the fragrance as he pass'd;
On eager wing the spoiler came,
And search'd for crannies in the frame,
Urg'd his attempt on ev'ry side,
To ev'ry pane his trunk applied:
But still in vain-the frame was tight,
And only pervious to the light;
Thus, having wasted half his day,'
He trimm'd his flight another way.

Our dear delights are often such:
Expos'd to view, but not to touch,
The sight our foolish heart inflames,
We long for pine-apples in frames;
With hopeless wish one looks and lingers,
One breaks the glass and cuts his fingers;
But those whom truth and wisdom lead,
Can gather honey from a weed.

COWPER.

DISPUTE BETWEEN NOSE AND EYES.

BETWEEN Nose and Eyes a strange contest arose,
The spectacles set them unhappily wrong:
The point in dispute was, as all the world knows,
To which the said spectacles ought to belong.

So Tongue was the lawyer, and argued the cause With a great deal of wit, and a wig full of learning, While chief baron Ear sat to balance the laws,

So fam'd for his talent in nicely discerning.

In behalf of the Nose it will quickly appear,

And your lordship, he said, will undoubtedly find, That the Nose has had spectacles always in wear, Which amounts to possession, time out of mind.

Then holding the spectacles up to the court

Your lordship observes they are made with a straddle, As wide as the bridge of the Nose is, in short, Design'd to sit close to it, just like a saddle.

Again; would your lordship a moment suppose ('Tis a case that has happen'd, and may be again) That the visage or countenance had not a Nose,

Pray who would, or who could, wear spectacles then?

On the whole it appears, that my argument shows,
With a reasoning the court will never condemn,
That the spectacles plainly were made for the Nose,
And the Nose was as plainly intended for them.

Then shifting his side (as the lawyer knows how,)
He pleaded again in behalf of the Eyes:

But what were his arguments few people know,

For the court did not think they were equally wise. So his lordship decreed, with a grave solemn tone, Decisive and clear, without one if or but, That, whenever the Nose put his spectacles on,

By day-light, or candle-light, Eyes should be shut.

BENEATH the hedge, or near the stream,

A worm is known to stray,

That shows by night a lucid beam,
Which disappears by day.

Disputes have been, and still prevail,
From whence his rays proceed;

Some give that honour to his tail,
And others to his head.

But this is sure-the hand of might,

That kindles up the skies,
Gives him a modicum of light
Proportion'd to his size.

Perhaps indulgent nature meant;
By such a lamp bestow'd,
To bid the trav'ler, as he went,
Be careful where he trod:

Nor crush a worm, whose ́useful light
Might serve, however small,

To show a stumbling-stone by night,
And save him from a fall.

Whate'er she meant, this truth divine
Is legible and plain,

'Tis pow'r almighty bids him shine,
Nor bids him shine in vain.

Ye proud and wealthy, let this theme
Teach humbler thoughts to you,
Since such a reptile has its gem,
And boasts its splendour too.

COWPER.