VERSES

SUPPOSED TO BE WRITTEN BY ALEXANDER SEL

KIRK, DURING HIS SOLITARY ABODE IN THE ISLAND OF JUAN FERNANDEZ.

I AM monarch of all I survey,

My right there is none to dispute :
From the centre all round to the sea,

I am lord of the fowl and the brute.
O Solitude! where are the charms

That sages have seen in thy face?
Better dwell in the midst of alarms,

Than reign in this horrible place.
I am out of humanity's reach,

I must finish my journey alone,
Never hear the sweet music of speech-

I start at the sound of my own.
The beasts, that roam over the plain,

My form with indifference see;
They are so unacquainted with man,

Their tameness is shocking to me.
Society, friendship, and love,

Divinely bestow'd upon man!
O, had I the wings of a dove,

How soon would I taste you again!
My sorrows I then might assuage

In the ways of religion and truth,
Might learn from the wisdom of age,
And be cheer'd by the sallies of youth.

Religion! what treasure untold

Resides in that heavenly word;
More precious than silver and gold,

Or all that this earth can afford.
But the sound of the church-going bell

These valleys and rocks never heard,
Never sigh'd at the sound of a knell,

Or smil'd when a sabbath appear'd. Ye winds, that have made me your sport,

Convey to this desolate shore Some cordial, endearing report

Of a land I shall visit no more. My friends, do they now and then send

A wish or a thought after me? O tell me I yet have a friend,

Though a friend I am never to see. How fleet is a glance of the mind!

*Compar'd with the speed of its flight, The tempest itself lags behind,

And the swift-winged arrows of light. When I think of my own native land,

In a moment I seem to be there; But, alas! recollection, at hand,

Soon hurries me back to despair. But the sea-fowl is gone to her nest,

The beast is laid down in his lair; Even here is a season of rest;

And I to my cabin repair. There's mercy in every place,

And mercy, encouraging thought! Gives even affliction a grace,

And reconciles man to his lot.

THE DIVERTING

HISTORY OF JOHN GILPIN;

SHOWING HOW HE WENT PARTHER THAN HE

INTENDED, AND CAME SAFE HOME AGAIN.

JOHN GILPIN was a citizen

Of credit and renown,
A train-band captain eke was he,

Of famous London town,

John Gilpin's spouse said to her dear,

“ Though wedded we have been These twice ten tedious years, yet we

No holiday have seen.

“ To-morrow is our wedding-day,

And we will then repair
Unto the Bell at Edmonton,

All in a chaise and pair.

“My sister, and my sister's child,

Myself, and children three,
Will fill the chaise ; so you must ride

On horseback after we."

He soon replied, " I do admire

Of woman-kind but one,
And you are she, my dearest dear;

Therefore it shall be done.

“ I am a linen-draper bold,

As all the world doth know,
And my good friend the calend'rer

Will lend his horse to go.”

Qnoth Mrs. Gilpin, " That's well said;

And, for that wine is dear,
We will be furnish'd with our own,

Which is both bright and clear."

John Gilpin kiss'd his loving wife;

O’erjoy'd was he to find
That, though on pleasure she was bent,

She had a frugal mind.

The morning came, the chaise was brought,

But yet was not allow'd
To drive up to the door, lest all

Should say that she was proud.

So three doors off the chaise was stay'd,

Where they did all get in; Six precious souls, and all agog

To dash through thick and thin.

Smack wer the whip, round went the wheels,

Were never folk so glad,
The stones did rattle underneath,

As if Cheapside were mad.

For saddle-tree scarce reach'd had he,

His journey to begin,
When, turning round his head, he saw

Three customers come in.

So down he came; for loss of time,

Although it griev'd him sore,
Yet loss of pence, full well he knew,

Would trouble him much more.

'T was long before the enstomers

Were suited to their mind, When Betty, screaming, came down stairs,

“ The wine is left behind!”

“ Good lack!” quoth he-"yet bring it me,

My leathern belt likewise,
In which I bear my trusty sword,

When I do exercise."

Now Mistress Gilpin (careful soul!)

Had two stone bottles found, To hold the liquor that she lov’d,

And keep it safe and sound.

Each bottle had a curling ear,
** Through which the belt he drew,
And hung a bottle on each side,

To make his balance true.

Then over all, that he might be

Equipp'd from top to toe, His long red cloak, well brush'd and usat,

He manfully did throw,