 | Rhymes with reason and without |  |
310
XIV.
TONGUES.
The tongue is small, yet of a mighty force!The Apostle James a homily once writ,
Wherein this useful member he did hit,—
A married man he must have been, of course.
A shrewish woman, with a wicked tongue,
Will strive to set a neighborhood in blaze,
A venom dwelling in each word she says,
And poison scatter peaceful homes among.
A tattling man,—a man in form alone,—
Will prove a curse where'er he chance to light,
Casting o'er tranquil scenes a mildew blight,
And changing kindred hearts to hostile stone.
Of all the tongues that I have ever known,
That to an ox-cart was the stillest one.
| Rhymes with reason and without | |