The corn to thrash, or the hedge to plash, Or mend the fence by the cover side, Ay, only give me work, And then you need not fear To steal the plate so rich; Or leave the yeoman that had a purse Wherever Nature needs, Wherever Labour calls, No job I'll shirk of the hardest work, The pauper babe its breath, My only claim is this, With labour stiff and stark, But all from the hand that holds the land, And none from the overseer! No parish money or loaf, No pauper-badges for me, A son of the soil-by right of toil Entitled to my fee. No alms I ask, give me my task, Here are the arm, the leg, The strength, and sinews of a man, Still one of Adam's heirs, Though doom'd, by chance of birth, To dress so mean, and to eat the lean, Instead of the fat of the earth; THE LAY OF THE LABOURER. To make such humble meals As honest labour can, A bone and a crust, with a grace to God, A spade! a rake! a hoe! A hook to reap, or a scythe to mow, A flail, or what ye will- Here is a willing drudge, With muscle and limb, and woe to him Who every weekly score Docks labour's little mite, Bestows on the poor at the temple door, Shall visit me in the New Bastile, HOOD. 105 V. THERE'S A GOOD TIME COMING. "THE common bias of the mind undoubtedly is (such is the benevolent appointment of Providence), to think favourably of the future; to overvalue the chances of possible good, and to underrate the risks of possible evil; and in the case of some fortunate individuals, this disposition remains after a thousand disappointments. To what this bias of our nature is owing, it is not material for us to inquire: the fact is certain, and it is an important one to our happiness. It supports us under the real distresses of life, and cheers and animates all our labours. * * * * When such a temper is united (as it commonly is) with pleasing notions concerning the order of the universe, and in particular concerning the condition and the prospects of man, it places our happiness in a great measure, beyond the power of fortune. While it adds a double relish to every enjoyment, it blunts the edge of all our sufferings; and even when human life presents to us no object on which our hopes can rest, it invites the imagination beyond the dark and troubled horizon which terminates all our earthly prospects, to wander unconfined in the regions of futurity. A man of benevolence, whose mind is enlarged by philosophy, will indulge the same agreeable anticipations, with respect to society; will view all the different improvements in arts, in commerce, and in the sciences, as co-operating to promote the union, the happiness, and the virtue of mankind; and, amidst the political disorders resulting from the prejudices and follies of his own times, will look forward with transport to the blessings which are reserved for posterity in a more enlightened age."-Dugald Stewart. THERE's a good time coming yet, We may not live to see the day, There's a good time coming yet, The pen shall supersede the sword, Worth, not birth, shall rule mankind, There's a good time coming yet, Shall not make their martyrs bleed In the good time coming. There's a good time coming yet, In the good time coming; Nor slaughter men for glory's sake- CHARLES MACKAY. NEVER SAY FAIL. 107 VI. NEVER SAY FAIL! "It was a wise injunction to Timothy, 'to be instant in season and out of season,' because we so often fancy that a word would be out of season, when it would, in fact, be seasonable.”—Arnold. KEEP pushing 'tis wiser With an eye ever open, A tongue that's not dumb, The spirit of angels Is active I know, Ahead then keep pushing, In life's rosy morning, In manhood's firm pride, In storm and in sunshine, We'll onward and conquer, ANONYMOUS. VII. THE SLUGGARD. "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways and be wise, which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise out of thy sleep? Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.' -Proverbs vi., 6-11. "TIs the voice of the sluggard-I heard him complain, As the door' on its hinges, so he on his bed Turns his sides, and his shoulders, and his heavy head. "A little more sleep, and a little more slumber." Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number; .3 I pass'd by his garden, and saw the wild brier, 1. What is door the nominative to? 3. Broader and higher than what? WATTS. any other phrase signifying the same thing? 5. What part of speech is but here? |