KING BRUCE of Scotland flung himself down "Tis true he was monarch, and wore a crown, For he had been trying to do a great deed He had tried and tried, but couldn't succeed, He flung himself down in low despair, And after a while as he pondered there, Now just at the moment a spider dropped, With its silken cobweb clue, And the king in the midst of his thinking stopped "Twas a long way up to the ceiling dome, It soon began to cling and crawl Straight up with strong endeavour, Up, up it ran, not a second it stayed, Till it fell still lower, and there it laid, Its head grew steady-again it went, Again it fell and swung below, But again it quickly mounted, Till up and down, now fast, now slow, "Sure," cried the king, " that foolish thing Will strive no more to climb, When it toils so hard to reach and cling, NEVER GIVE UP. But up the insect went once more, Steadily, steadily, inch by inch, And a bold little run at the very last pinch, 66 "Bravo, bravo!" the king cried out, "All honour to those who try, The spider up there defied despair, He conquered, and why shouldn't I?” And Bruce of Scotland braced his mind, That he tried once more as he tried before, 125 ELIZA COOK. XXII. NEVER GIVE UP. "MAN, amidst the fluctuations of his own feelings and of passing events, ought to resemble the ship, which currents may carry and winds may impel from her course, but which, amidst every deviation, still presses onward to her port with unremitted perseverance. In the coolness of reflection, he ought to survey his affairs with a dispassionate and comprehensive eye, and, having fixed on his plan, take the necessary steps to accomplish it, regardless of the temporary mutations of his mind, the monotony of the same track, the apathy of exhausted attention, or the blandishments of new projects."-Essays on the Formation and Publication of Opinions. NEVER give up! it is wiser and better Never give up! or the burthen may sink you,- The watchword of life must be, Never give up! Providence wisely has mingled the cup, TUPPER'S Ballads and Poems. XXIII. COURAGE! A BALLAD FOR TROUBLOUS TIMES. Accept "TRUST thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. the place the divine Providence has found for you; the society of your contemporaries, the connexion of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the Eternal was stirring at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent destiny; and not pinched in a corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but redeemers and benefactors, pious aspirants to be noble clay; plastic under the Almighty effort, let us advance and advance on Chaos and the Dark."-R. W. Emerson. DANGERS do not dare me, Terrors cannot scare me, Trouble's darkest hour Shall not make me cower To the Spectre's power, Never, never, never! XXIV. BEST CURE FOR TROUBLE. "THE great principle of human satisfaction is engagement. It is a most just distinction, which the late Mr. Tucker has dwelt upon so largely in his works, between pleasures in which we are passive, and pleasures in which we are active. And, I believe, every attentive observer of human life will assent to his position, that however grateful the sensations may occasionally be in which we are passive, it is not these but the latter class of our pleasures which constitutes satisfaction; which supply that regular stream of moderate and miscellaneous enjoyments in which happiness, as distinguished from voluptuousness consists."-Paley. BEN BRISK a philosopher was, In the genuine sense of the word; And he held that repining, whatever the cause, When Mat Mope was assaulted by Trouble, Tom Tipple, when trouble intruded, And his fortune and credit were sunk, By a too common error deluded, Drowned Trouble, and made himself drunk. But Ben had a way of his own, When grievances made him uneasy, Braved trouble, and made himself busy. And poisons each source of enjoyment; For Trouble and Grief is-Employment. ANONYMOUS. XXV. GO ON ! "Look not mournfully into the Past. It comes not back again. Wisely improve the Present: it is thine. Go forth to meet the shadowy Future without fear and with a manly heart."-Longfellow. Go on! go on! no moments wait Be strong in faith, and emulate Go on! |