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SELECT POETRY

Seize thee on thy nest, my Robin,
And confine thee in a cage;
Then, poor Robin, think of me,
Think—and sigh for liberty.
Liberty! thou brightest treasure
In the crown of earthly joys,
Source of gladness, soul of pleasure.
All delights besides are toys:
None but prisoners like me
Know the worth of liberty.
Montgomery.

 

LOVING AND LIKING.
ADDRESSED TO A CHILD.

Say not you love a roasted fowl,
But you may love a screaming ow),
And, if you can, the unwieldy toad
That crawls from his secure abode,
Within the grassy garden wall,
When evening dews begin to fall.
Oh! mark the beauty of his eye,
What wonders in that circle lie! -
So clear, so bright, our fathers said
He wears a jewel in his head !

And when, upon some showery day,
Into a path or public way,

A frog leaps out from bordering grass
Startling the timid as they pass,

Do you observe him, and endeavour
To take the intruder into favour ;
Learning from him to find a reasou
For a light heart in a dull season.