Page:Fugitive Poetry 1600-1878.djvu/146
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Love and Friendship.
When Love and Friendship both were young,
In frolic mood one day;
They strove by argument to prove
Who bore the widest sway.
In frolic mood one day;
They strove by argument to prove
Who bore the widest sway.
"My empire," Love, exulting, cried,
"O'er all mankind extends,"
"And mine!" said Friendship, "oft begins,
Where yours in coldness ends.
"O'er all mankind extends,"
"And mine!" said Friendship, "oft begins,
Where yours in coldness ends.
"Thy transient reign, like youth's gay charms,
Decays with beauty's flower,
Whilst my consoling influence soothes
The mourner's darkest hour.
Decays with beauty's flower,
Whilst my consoling influence soothes
The mourner's darkest hour.
"Then, urchin! know Love's power is vain,
Unless with Friendship joined;
Thy chains the senses may enslave—
Mine the immortal mind."
Unless with Friendship joined;
Thy chains the senses may enslave—
Mine the immortal mind."
In Imitation of Shakespere's Sonnets.
I saw a maid let fall a tender tear,
Which, as it travelled down her virgin cheek,
Did better tell me of her bosom's care,
Than all the language which her tongue could speak.
And as she smiled, and in her cheeks she wore,
Two dimples, such as Venus' self might own,
Where Cupid nestling with his golden store,
Quick as I gazed, an arrow had let flown;
I felt its smart, and straightway did devise,
That love, from smiles, not tears, doth take its rise.
Which, as it travelled down her virgin cheek,
Did better tell me of her bosom's care,
Than all the language which her tongue could speak.
And as she smiled, and in her cheeks she wore,
Two dimples, such as Venus' self might own,
Where Cupid nestling with his golden store,
Quick as I gazed, an arrow had let flown;
I felt its smart, and straightway did devise,
That love, from smiles, not tears, doth take its rise.
The Game of Life.
This life is but a game of cards, which mortals have to learn,
Each shuffles, cuts, and deals the pack, and each a trump doth turn;
Some bring a high card to the top and others bring a low,
Some hold a hand quite flush of trumps, while others none can show.
Each shuffles, cuts, and deals the pack, and each a trump doth turn;
Some bring a high card to the top and others bring a low,
Some hold a hand quite flush of trumps, while others none can show.