T. When a pretty girl's father, one night,
Set the dog at a youth, that would scan
Her abode, should we think the poor wight
Put to flight by the dog or the man?

7. Ah! you only can turn it to fun.
T. And he only could learn how to run.

WILLIAM BARNES.

JOHN TALKING ANGRILY OF A NEIGHBOR BEFORE AN ECHO.

HO is he? I should like to be told;

WHO

What is he? I should wish him to show; Why, the Brines' name will stand good for gold, While the Browns are a set that none know.

Echo. No, no.

No, I'm not ashamed of my place;
No, I'm not ashamed of my name;
No, I can well hold up my face,

While he must hang his down for shame.

Echo. For shame!

Since now he bestrides an old mare,
His lips, O with pride how they pout!

Though his feet once trudged about bare,
When I had a horse to ride out.

Echo. I doubt.

No, he 's not too safe from a fall:
If a half I am told is but true,

I could very soon make him look small,
With a turn I could very well do.

Echo. Well, do!

His pride would have come to an end
Long ago, as it must bye and bye,
If I had not stood for his friend

As I did, and the greater oaf I.

Echo. O, fie!

I may be a little foreright,
But I never would do on the sly
Little doings, not fit for the light;
You will never find me in a lie.

Echo. A lie.

WILLIAM BARNES, Rural Poems.

CHOICE OF TRADES.

A DIALOGUE.

First Boy.

WHEN I'm a man, — a man, —

I'll be a farmer, if I can ;

I'll plough the ground, and the seed I'll sow;
I'll reap the grain, and the grass I'll mow;
I'll bind the sheaves, and I 'll rake the hay,
And pitch it up in the mow away,

When I'm a man!

Second Boy.

When I'm a man,

I'll be a carpenter, if I can;

I'll plane like this, and I'll hammer so!
And this is the way my saw shall go.

I'll make bird-houses, and sleds, and boats,
And a ship that shall race every craft that floats,
When I'm a man!

Third Boy.

When I'm a man,

A blacksmith I'll be, if I can :

Clang, clang, clang, shall my anvil ring,
And this is the way the blows I'll swing.
I'll shoe your horse, sir, neat and tight,
Then I'll trot round the square to see if 'tis right,
When I'm a man!

Fourth Boy.

When I'm a man,

A mason I'll be, if I can;

I'll lay a brick this way, and lay one that,
Then take my trowel and smooth them flat.
Great chimneys I'll make: I think I'll be able
To build one as high as the Tower of Babel,
When I'm a man!

Fifth Boy.

When I'm a man,

I'll be a shoemaker, if I can;

I'll sit on a bench, with my last held so,
And in and out shall my needle go.
I'll sew so strong that my work shall wear,
Till nothing is left but my stitches there,
When I'm a man!

Sixth Boy.

When I'm a man,

A printer I'll be, if I can ;

I'll make pretty books, and perhaps I shall
Print the leaves of the Little Corporal!

I'll have the first reading: O, won't it be fun
To read all the stories before they are done,
When I'm a man?

Seventh Boy.

When I'm a man,

A doctor I'll be, if I can;

My powders and pills shall be nice and sweet,
And
you shall have just what you like to eat.

I'll prescribe for you riding, and sailing, and such, And, above all things, you never must study too much, When I'm a man.

Together.

When we are men,

We hope we shall do great things, and then,

Whatever we do, this thing we'll say,

We'll do our work in the very best way;
And you shall see, if you know us then,
We'll be good and honest and useful men,
When we are men!

LEND A HAND.

LEND a hand to one another

In the daily toil of life :

When we meet a weaker brother,
Let us help him in the strife.
There is none so rich but may,

In his turn, be forced to borrow;
And the poor man's lot to-day

May become our own to-morrow.

Lend a hand to one another.

When malicious tongues have thrown Dark suspicion on your brother,

Be not prompt to cast a stone. There is none so good but may Run adrift in shame and sorrow;

And the good man of to-day

May become the bad to-morrow.

Lend a hand to one another.

In the race for Honor's crown, Should it fall upon your brother, Let not envy tear it down. Lend a hand to all, we pray,

In their sunshine or their sorrow; And the prize they've won to-day May become our own to-morrow.