Then he goes on to tell his story :- Came on the cave where old Silenus lay; The garland from his head had fallen aside, and narrates the old fables of the cosmogonists-the Deluge of Deucalion, the new race of men who sprang from the stones which he and Pyrrha cast behind them, the golden reign of Saturn, the theft of fire by Prometheus, and a long series of other legends, with which he charms his listeners until the falling shadows warn them to count their flocks, and the evening-star comes out, as the poet phrases it, "over the unwilling heights of Olympus "-loath yet to lose the fascinating strain.] A RECTIFYING ESTABLISHMENT. Judge Craig Biddle of Philadelphia is celebrated among his friends for his wit, as well as for his legal learning. Riding one day in the cars from New York with a stranger, who touched the Judge on the shoulder, and pointing to the extensive brick buildings on the Pennepack, which constitute the House of Correction, said: "Excuse me, sir, is that a distillery?" "Well," said the Judge, with a twinkle in his eye, "I believe it is somehow connected with the liquor business, it is a rectifying establishment!" ASK AND HAVE. Now was their time-both had been cheated"Oh, 'tis time I should talk to your mother, long By the sly god with promise of a song; Sweet Mary,' says I; "Oh, don't talk to my mother," says Mary, "For my mother says men are deceivers, And lo! a fair accomplice comes to aid: Enough you've caught me-tying is too bad. mind, I warrant me I'll pay her out in kind.' So he began. The listening Fauns drew near, So joy Parnassus when Apollo sings- Then, suppose I would talk to your father, "Oh, don't talk to my father," says Mary, For my father, he loves me so dearly, "Then how shall I get you, my jewel? Or-"If your father and mother's so cruel, [Silenus's strain is a poetical lecture on natural philoophy. He is as didactic in his waking soberness as some of his disciples are in their cups. He describes how the world sprang from the four original elements, VOL. III-W. H. "Oh, never say die, dear," says Mary; SAMUEL LOVER. 19 THREE BLIND TIPPLERS. THOMAS MOORE. Three sightless inmates of the sky, Whose names were Justice-FortuneCupid, Finding their public life on high Somewhat monotonous and stupid, Resolved one morning to unite Their powers in an Alliance Holy, And purify the earth, whose plight They all agreed was melancholy. Quoth Justice--of the world below For fear our forces should be parted, Let us be your perpetual guide:Agreed nem. con. and off they started. Love first, and Fortune next descends, Then Justice, though awhile she tarried, Then Cupid cries-This flight, my friend, Has made my throttle somewhat arid: Beneath each wing, before our trip, I popp'd a golden vase of nectar, And I for one should like to sip-What says our worshipful director? The proposition, 'twas decreed, Redounded to the mover's glory, So down they sat upon the mead, And plied the flagon con amore; But not reflecting that the draught With air of earth was mix'd and muddled, Before the second vase was quaff'd They all became completely fuddled. Now reeling, wrangling, they proceed, All struggle fiercely for dominion; Whereat her sword in wrath she draws, And throws it in her scales with fury, Maintaining that the rightful cause Requires no other judge and jury. Fortune purloining Cupid's darts, Tips them with gold for sordid suitors, Making sad havoc in the hearts Of matrimonial computers; While Love on Fortune's wheel apace Plagues mortals with incessant changes, Gives flying glimpses of his face, Then presto!--pass! away he ranges. I could ne'er refuse In past times or present, Any person whose But go a moral cropper, Though what's proposed is wrong, Or not too strictly proper, When a man says "Wine! Straight I drain the flagon; I to cry was fain, "Oh, Produce your Pommery Grèno! Dry as Compton's fun, Dry as author's pocket; And cast away all troubles; EDMUND YATES, |