My day and night myself I make,
Whene'er I sleep or play;
And could I always keep awake,
With me 't were always day.
Then let not what I cannot have
My cheer of mind destroy;
While thus I sing, I am a king,
Although a poor blind boy.
He pretends he is asleep,
Fast asleep upon his bed,
With his arm beneath his head.
Ha! he is not half asleep,
See, he slily takes a peep!
Monkey, though your eyes are shut,
You could see this little nut!
There! the little ancient man
Cracks as fast as e'er he can :
Now good bye, you funny fellow,
Nature's primest Punchinello!
THE CROCUS, OR THE DUTY OF PATIENCE.
Down in my solitude under the snow,
Where nothing cheering can reach me ;
Here without light to see how to grow,
I'll trust to nature to teach me.
I will not despair, nor be idle, nor frown,
Inclosed in so gloomy a dwelling ;
My leaves shall run up, & my roots shall run down,
While the bud in my bosom is swelling.
Soon as the frost will get out of my bed,
From this cold dungeon to free me,
I will peer up with my little bright head,
All will be joyful to see me.
Then from my heart will young
buds diverge
As rays of the sun from their focus ;
And I from the darkness of earth shall emerge,
A happy and beautiful Crocus !
Gaily array'd in my yellow and green,
When to their view I have risen,
Will they not wonder how one so serene
Came from so dismal a prison?
Many, perhaps, from so simple a flower,
This useful lesson may borrow ;-
Patient to-day, through its gloomiest hour,
We come out the brighter to-morrow!
A miser, traversing his house,
Espied unusual there a mouse,
And thus his uninvited guest,
Briskly inquisitive, address'd-
"Tell me, my dear, to what cause is it,
I owe this unexpected visit?"
The mouse her host obliquely eyed,
And, smiling, pleasantly replied,
"Fear not, good fellow, for your hoard,
I come to lodge, and not to board.
Harness me down with your iron bands,
Be sure of your curb and rein;
For I scorn the power of your puny hands
As the tempest scorns a chain.
How I laugh'd as I laid conceal'd from sight,
For many a countless hour,
At the childish boast of human might,
And the pride of human power.
But, ha ha! they found me at last—
They invited me forth at length;
And I rush'd to my throne with thunder blast,
And laugh'd in my iron strength.
Oh, then ye saw a wondrous change,
On the earth and ocean wide;
Where now my fiery armies range,
Nor wait for wind or tide!
Hurrah! hurrah! the waters o'er-
The mountains' steep decline,
Time-space, have yielded to my power;
The world-the world is mine!
The rivers the sun hath earliest blessed,
Or those where his beams decline;
The giant streams of the queenly West,
Or the orient floods divine.
I blow the bellows-I forge the steel
In all the shops of trade;
I hammer the ore and turn the wheel
Where the arms of strength are made;
manage the furnace-the mill-the mint;
I carry-I spin- I weave;
And all my doings I put into print
On every following eve.
I've no muscle to weary-no breast to decay,
No bones to be "laid on the shelf;"
And soon I intend you may" go and play,'
While I manage the world by myself.
But harness me down with your iron bands-
Be sure of your curb and rein;
For I scorn the strength of your puny hands
As the tempest scorns a chain.
Most wondrous specimen of art
With nature's laws combin'd,
Thou actest an enchanter's part,
Unrivalled in its kind!
United, at a moment's date,
Two distant spots we sce;
Whilst time and space, annihilate,
Are set at nought by thee.
The fabled wonders, which of old
Our childhood lov'd to read,
Have scarcely equal wonders told,
To match thy lightning speed.
The wave of the magician's wand,
Bade distant scenes appear;
Whilst far-off lands, at thy command,
Obediently hear.
O'er miles and miles the message flies!
Yet scarcely is it said,
When, lo! the listener replies
Before a moment's fled.
When shall thy new-found influence cease?
How far will it extend?
Shall not its curious power's increase
Remotest nations blend?
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