Works

We cannot kindle when we will
The fire which in the heart resides;
The spirit bloweth and is still,
In mystery our soul abides.
But tasks in hours of insight will'd...

Give me the lifted skirt,
And the brave ways of wrong,
The fist, the dagger and the sword,
And the out-spoken song.

Ah! bring me not the love
That bargains, bids and buys:...

ADDRESSED TO J. ATKINSON, ESQ. M. R. I. A.


Though long at school and college dozing.
O'er books of verse and books of prosing,
And copying from their moral pages
Fine recipes for making sages;...

"His Lordship said that it took a long time for a moral position to find its way across the Atlantic. He was very sorry that its voyage had been so long," etc.--Speech of Lord Dudley and Ward on Colonial Slavery, March 8.
...

The time the bridegroom stays from hence
Is but the time of penitence.

I hold that life more fortunate by far
That sits with its sweet memories alone
And cherishes a joy for ever flown
Beyond the reach of accident to mar.
(Some joy that was extinguished like a star)...

In five-score summers! All new eyes,
New minds, new modes, new fools, new wise;
New woes to weep, new joys to prize;

With nothing left of me and you
In that live century's vivid view...

'Tis still observ'd those men most valiant are,
That are most modest ere they come to war.

There was a young person of Bantry,
Who frequently slept in the pantry;
When disturbed by the mice,
She appeased them with rice,
That judicious young person of Bantry.

There was an old person of Bromley,
Whose ways were not cheerful or comely;
He sate in the dust,
Eating spiders and crust,
That unpleasing old person of Bromley.

There was an old man of Thermopylae,
Who never did anything properly;
But they said, "If you choose
To boil eggs in your shoes,
You shall never remain in Thermopylae."

There was an old person of Shields,
Who frequented the vallies and fields;
All the mice and the cats,
And the snakes and the rats,
Followed after that person of Shields.

There was an old man of Dunluce,
Who went out to sea on a goose:
When he'd gone out a mile,
He observ'd with a smile,
"It is time to return to Dunluce."

There was an old man of Dee-side
Whose hat was exceedingly wide,
But he said, "Do not fail,
If it happen to hail,
To come under my hat at Dee-side!"

There was an old person in black,
A Grasshopper jumped on his back;
When it chirped in his ear,
He was smitten with fear,
That helpless old person in black.

There was an old man of the Dargle
Who purchased six barrels of Gargle;
For he said, "I'll sit still,
And will roll them down hill,
For the fish in the depths of the Dargle."

There was an old person of Pinner,
As thin as a lath, if not thinner;
They dressed him in white,
And roll'd him up tight,
That elastic old person of Pinner.

There was an old person of China,
Whose daughters were Jiska and Dinah,
Amelia and Fluffy,
Olivia and Chuffy,
And all of them settled in China.

There was an old man in a Marsh,
Whose manners were futile and harsh;
He sate on a log,
And sang songs to a frog,
That instructive old man in a Marsh.

There was an old person of Brill,
Who purchased a shirt with a frill;
But they said, "Don't you wish,
You mayn't look like a fish,
You obsequious old person of Brill?"