Whence straight he came with hat and wig,
A wig that flowed behind,

A hat not much the worse for wear,
Each comely1 in its kind.

He held them up, and in his turn
Thus showed his ready wit:
"My head is twice as big as yours,
They therefore needs must fit.
"But let me scrape the dirt away
That hangs upon your face;
And stop and eat, for well you may
Be in a hungry case.'

"2

Said John, "It is my wedding-day,
And all the world would stare,
If wife should dine at Edmonton,
And I should dine at Ware."

So turning to his horse, he said,
"I am in haste to dine;

"Twas for your pleasure you came here,
You shall go back for mine."

Ah, luckless speech! ah, bootless boast!
For which he paid full dear;
For, while he spake, a braying ass
Did sing both loud and clear;

Whereat his horse did snort, as he
Had heard a lion roar,

And galloped off with all his might,
As he had done before.

Away went Gilpin, and away

Went Gilpin's hat and wig;

He lost them sooner than at first-
For why? they were too big.

1 Comely, good-looking. fruitless.

Case, condition

3 Bootless, useless,

Now Mrs. Gilpin, when she saw

Her husband posting1 down

Into the country far away,

She pulled out half a crown:

And thus unto the youth, she said,
That drove them to the Bell,

"This shall be yours, when you bring back
My husband safe and well."

The youth did ride, and soon did meet
John coming back amain,2
Whom in a trice3 he tried to stop,
By catching at his rein;

But not performing what he meant,
And gladly would have done,
The frighted steed he frighted more,
And made him faster run.

Away went Gilpin, and away

4

Went postboy at his heels,

The postboy's horse right glad to miss
The lumbering 5 of the wheels.

Six gentlemen upon the road

Thus seeing Gilpin fly,

With postboy scampering in the rear,

They raised the hue and

cry:6

"Stop thief! stop thief! a highwayman !"7
Not one of them was mute; 8

And all and each that passed that way—
Did join in the pursuit.

2

4

Posting, travelling in haste. Amain, furiously, with all his might. 3 Trice, in an instant, in a short space of time. Postboy, a boy that drives a post-chaise. 5 Lumbering, noise, rattle. Hue and cry, the pursuit of an offender with loud cries to give an alarm. 7 Highwayman, one who robs on the public road. Mute, silent.

8

And now the turnpike gates again
Flew open in short space;
The tollmen thinking as before
That Gilpin rode a race.

And so he did, and won it too,

For he got first to town;

Nor stopped till where he had got up,
He did again get down.

Now let us sing, long live the king,
And Gilpin long live he;

And, when he next doth ride abroad,
May I be there to see!

THE COUNTRY PASTOR.2-Goldsmith.

NEAR yonder copse,3 where once a garden smiled,
And still where many a garden-flower grows wild;
There, where a few torn shrubs the place disclose,
The village preacher's modest mansion 5 rose.
A man he was to all the country dear,
And passing rich with forty pounds a year;
Remote from towns he ran his godly race,

Nor e'er had changed, nor wished to change, his place;
Unskilful he to fawn,8 or seek for power

By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour;
Far other aims his heart had learned to prize,
More bent to raise the wretched than to rise.
His house was known to all the vagrant 1o train,

10

He chid " their wanderings, but relieved their pain :
The long-remembered beggar was his guest,
Whose beard descending swept his agèd breast;

6

3

From "The Deserted Village." 2 Pastor, clergyman. Copse, a wood of small growth. Disclose, show, mark, betray. 5 Mansion, house. Passing, exceedingly. 7 Remote, distant. 8 Fawn, to court favour. Bent, inclined, intent. 10 Vagrant, wandering houseless. 11 Chid, reproved, rebuked.

The ruined spendthrift,1 now no longer proud, Claimed kindred 2 there, and had his claims allowed; The broken soldier, kindly bade to stay,

Sat by his fire, and talked the night away;

Wept o'er his wounds, or, tales of sorrow done,
Shouldered his crutch, and showed how fields were won
Pleased with his guests, the good man learned to glow,
And quite forgot their vices in their woe;
Careless their merits or their faults to scan,3
His pity gave erę charity began.

4 DEATH'S FINAL CONQUEST.-Shirley.

THE glories of our blood and state 5
Are shadows, not substantial things;
There is no armour against fate;
Death lays bis icy hands on kings.
Sceptre and crown

Must tumble down,

And in the dust be equal made

With the poor crooked scythe and spade.
Some men with swords may reap the field,
And plant fresh laurels where they kill;6
But their strong nerves at last must yield;
They tame but one another still.7

Early or late,

They stoop to fate,

And must give up their murmuring breath,
When they, pale captives, creep to Death.

Spendthrift, one who wastes money, one who spends freely or foolishly. 2 Kindred, relationship. 3 Scan, to examine carefully, to scrutinize. 4 This poem was written about the beginning of the 17th century. Blood and state, high birth and actual rank. Where they kill, obtain honour by conquering in battle. They tame, etc., but cannot tame the great conqueror-Death.

The garlands wither on your

brow:

Then boast no more your mighty deeds!
Upon Death's purple altar now

To the cold tomb;

Only the actions of the just

Smell sweet, and blossom in their dust.

THE OLIVE-TREE.-Baring-Gould.
SAID an ancient hermit, bending
Half in prayer upon his knee,
"Oil I need for midnight watching,
I desire an olive-tree."

Then he took a tender sapling,
Planted it before his cave,
Spread his trembling hands above it
As his benison5 gave he.

But he thought-the rain it needeth
That the root may drink and swell:
"God, I pray Thee send Thy showers!"
So a gentle shower fell.

"Lord, I ask for beams of summer,
Cherishing this little child."

6

Then the dripping clouds divided,

And the sun looked down and smiled.

1 Victor-victim, once the victor, now the conquered-the victim. 2 Olive-tree, a tree growing in the countries around the Mediterranean, cultivated for the sake of its oil. 8 Hermit, a person who lives in solitude for the purpose of devotion and contemplation. 4 Sapling, a young tree. 5 Benison, blessing. 6 Cherishing, nourishing, warming, promoting the growth.