 | Poems on Several Occasions |  |
The MERCIFUL.
A Butcher with a heart as hard as stone,And callous to an orphan Lambkin's moan,
Seizes his fated prey with horrid grin,
And whistles while the knife he plunges in;
Nell, who the scene beheld, with piteous look,
And shrugg'd-up shoulders, thus her feelings spoke:
“Thou barb'rous wretch! thus unprovok'd to spill
“So sweet a creature's blood that ne'er did ill!—
“See how it struggles, how it pants for life,
“The murd'rer's jaws clasping the reeky knife:
“To do a deed like this, were I to gain
“The universe—ev'n such a bribe were vain.”
Thus Nell with tenderness exclaims and feels—
While all the time—good soul!—She skins live Eels.
| Poems on Several Occasions | |