See'st thou again a Highland maid,

Who heard the groans that rent thy breast?

[Pg 27]

[Pg 27]

WISHING—FISHING.

Full well I know that wishing never yet has brought

The things that seem to us would satisfy the heart,

And that anticipated pleasure, when at last 'tis caught,

Has naught but transitory solace to impart;

And yet, somehow, I've ever felt and thought

A joy there is that never can depart—

(As long as we are capable of feeling—wishing)—

And that's to leave dull care behind, and—go a-fishing!

Some dream of wealth—of place—of fame—

And fleeting shadows vainly they pursue;

And some have sighed to win a deathless name

Where fields of carnage corpses thickly strew,

And shrieks of agony are heard 'mid smoke and flame;

But these are dizzy heights attained by few;

So, when Dame Fortune is her favors dishing,

 Prev. P 22/105 next