 | Rhymes with reason and without |  |
308
XI.
TRUST NOT APPEARANCES.
“O what a goodly outside falsehood hath!”A smile may hide a cankering heart below,
A sunken pit lie covered by the snow,
A serpent lurk in the most flowery path.
Let not appearances alone delight you,
A pretty woman oft may scold like fury,
A jack-o'-lantern to a pit allure ye,
A dog with kindly seeming yet may bite you.
I passed a church, and workmen busy were
Repairing and improving its old style;
I stood a moment, and I could but smile
To see a mighty pillar lying there,
Bearing the semblance of the hardest granite,
But proving pine when nearer I did scan it.
| Rhymes with reason and without | |