The English Dance of Death from the designs of Thomas Rowlandson, with metrical illustrations, by the author of "Doctor Syntax" [i.e. William Combe] |
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 | The English Dance of Death |  |
113
The House was down, of flames the prey;
And, as the smoking ruins lay,
Joe wrung his hands and wip'd his eye,
And thus talk'd o'er his destiny.
“'Twas in that House that I was born,
“And Comfort smil'd but yester-morn;
“But now I've neither house nor home,
“Nor what to do in time to come,
“I cannot tell; nor do I see
“The end of my calamity.—
“Alas, poor Joe, thy comfort's o'er,
“And smiling Joan will smile no more.”
And, as the smoking ruins lay,
Joe wrung his hands and wip'd his eye,
And thus talk'd o'er his destiny.
“'Twas in that House that I was born,
“And Comfort smil'd but yester-morn;
“But now I've neither house nor home,
“Nor what to do in time to come,
“I cannot tell; nor do I see
“The end of my calamity.—
“Alas, poor Joe, thy comfort's o'er,
“And smiling Joan will smile no more.”
“Peace,” said good Farmer Freeman, peace;
“And let these sad complainings cease.
“We all are born, as you should know,
“To meet misfortune here below;
“But then, my friend, it is as true,
“That we should learn to bear it too.
“Something is lost, but Heaven is kind;
“For something too is left behind.
“Your hoarded treasure's safe and sound,
“As a stray Donkey in a pound:
“The flames, at least, did not unlock it;
“You have it close within your pocket.
“Your Barns, you see, unhurt remain,
“With all their last year's stock of grain:
“Your Cow and Calf, and little Flock,
“Have only felt a sudden shock:
“Your Children too, have known no harm,
“They rest upon their Mother's arm:
“They feel no loss, they know no pain;
“Joan sees they're safe, and smiles again.
“In all the Hamlet's ample bound,
“Aye, and in all the Country round,
“There's not a heart that will not show
“Its kind regard to honest Joe.
“Besides your Landlord Squire Bounty,
“Known for good deeds, throughout the County,
“Will build, I doubt not, at his cost,
“A better house than you have lost:
“But till that House is snug and tight,
“And honest Joe finds all things right;
“He and his Wife, and Children three,
“Shall come—aye come,—and live with me.”
“And let these sad complainings cease.
“We all are born, as you should know,
“To meet misfortune here below;
“But then, my friend, it is as true,
“That we should learn to bear it too.
“Something is lost, but Heaven is kind;
“For something too is left behind.
114
“As a stray Donkey in a pound:
“The flames, at least, did not unlock it;
“You have it close within your pocket.
“Your Barns, you see, unhurt remain,
“With all their last year's stock of grain:
“Your Cow and Calf, and little Flock,
“Have only felt a sudden shock:
“Your Children too, have known no harm,
“They rest upon their Mother's arm:
“They feel no loss, they know no pain;
“Joan sees they're safe, and smiles again.
“In all the Hamlet's ample bound,
“Aye, and in all the Country round,
“There's not a heart that will not show
“Its kind regard to honest Joe.
“Besides your Landlord Squire Bounty,
“Known for good deeds, throughout the County,
“Will build, I doubt not, at his cost,
“A better house than you have lost:
115
“And honest Joe finds all things right;
“He and his Wife, and Children three,
“Shall come—aye come,—and live with me.”
| The English Dance of Death | |