It chanced a pig was standing by:
"Bravo! astonishing! encore!"
Exclaimed the critic of the sty,
"Such dancing we shall see no more!"
Poor Bruin, when he heard the sentence.
Began an inward calculation;
Then, with a face that spoke repentance.
Expressed aloud his meditation:—
"When the sly Monkey called me dunce,
I entertained some slight misgiving;
But, Pig, thy praise has proved at once
That dancing will not earn my living!"
Let every candidate for fame
Rely upon this wholesome rule:—
Your work is bad, if wise men blame.
But worse, if lauded by a fool.
(Iriarte, Literary Fables. Translated by T. Roscoe.)
WITHIN an old Cathedral hung
A mighty Bell,
Which never, save at Easter, swung
One solemn knell;
And then so sternly all around
Its echoes fell.
