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And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade;
All heads must come

To the cold tomb:

Only the actions of the just

Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.

SHIRLEY.

PRINCE LEBOO.

FROM the mighty Pacific, with soft-swelling waves
That a thousand bright regions eternally laves,
'Mid rocks of red coral with shell-fish abounding,
The notes of the parrot and pigeon resounding,
Crown'd with groves of banana and taper bamboo,
Rise the gay sunny shores of the Isles of Pelew.

From China returning with silk and with tea,
The tall English vessel sails over the sea;

Ah! look how she heaves! on the rocks she is stranded!

But the boats are thrown out, and the sailors are landed.

What black men are those in their slender canoe, Who gaze with such wonder-The men of Pelew.

How

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How kindly they welcome the sailors on shore! And yams and sweet cocoanuts bring from their store;

But vain ev'ry effort to soften their anguish !

For home, distant home, the poor Englishmen languish ;

They build a stout ship, they sail off from Pelew, And away with the strangers sails young Prince Leeboo.

O what is his rapture, and what his surprise, When in gay busy London he opens his eyes! "Fine shops, houses, coaches, O joy beyond measure!

Yes, yes, my dear friends shall partake in my pleasure:

Fine clothes, coaches, horses, I'll bear to PelewWhat wonder for them, what delight for Leeboo!"

Fond projects! In vain shall his father explore The wide shipless waves-he shall see him no more. O chide not the English thy darling detaining, And chide not thy son'mid the strangers remaining! Know, death has arrested him far from Pelew, And the strangers have wept o'er the gentle Leeboo!

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110

The Winter Torrent.

THE WINTER TORRENT.

PROUD and foolish, noisy stream!

Who to some muddy pool thy birth dost owe,
Which casually a brook became,
Assisted by the rain and melting snow:

Tho' now thou boast thy swelling tide, August will soon be here, and end thy shortliv'd pride.

Thou foam'st and boil'st along the plain, The flocks and shepherds threat'ning by the way, Thro' borrow'd waters basely vain

Lift'st up thy head, and dost regardless stray.
Thy noisy pride is all that thou canst call thy own;
Thy upstart stream will soon be gone,

No drop remain of thy proud swelling flood;
But all the cattle of the plain

Tread o'er the dusty sand, and spurn it with

disdain!

DRYDEN.

HUNTING,

Hunting the Hare.

111

HUNTING THE HARE.

HARK! from yon covert, where those tow'ring oaks Above the humble copse aspiring rise,

What glorious triumphs burst in ev'ry gale
Upon our ravish'd ears! The hunters shout;
The clanging horns swell their sweet winding
notes;

The pack wide op'ning load the trembling air
With various melody; from tree to tree
The propagated cry redoubling bounds,
And winged zephyrs waft the floating joy
Thro' all the regions near: afflictive birch
No more the schoolboy dreads; his prison broke,
Scamp'ring he flies, nor heeds his master's call;
The weary traveller forgets his road,

And climbs th' adjacent hill; the plowman leaves
Th' unfinish'd furrow; nor his bleating flocks
Are now the shepherd's joy; men, boys and
girls

Desert th' unpeopled village; and wild crowds
Spread o'er the plain, by the sweet phrensy seized.

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112

The Fairy's Song.

THE FAIRY'S SONG.

COME follow, follow me,
Ye fairy elves that be,
Light tripping o'er the green;
Come follow Mab your queen!
Hand in hand we 'll dance around,
For this place is Fairy ground.

When mortals are at rest
And snoring in their nest,
Unheard and unespied

Through key-holes we do glide;
Over tables, stools and shelves
We trip it with our fairy elves.

Then o'er a mushroom's head
Our tablecloth we spread;
A grain of rye or wheat

The diet that we eat;

Pearly drops of dew we drink
In acorn-cups fill'd to the brink,

The grasshopper, gnat, and fly,
Serve for our minstrelsy.

Grace

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