9
A KEY.
What force and strength could not get through,
I with a gentle touch can do;
And many in the street would stand,
Were I not as a friend at hand.
A DESK.
Homer of old, as stories tell,
His Iliad put in a nut-shell;
But did you know what l conceal-
Suppose a kingdom, commonweal,
At stake—here all the springs are found,
Which sets the wheel a-whirling round.
In me a thousand mischiefs lie,
A thousand pleasures I supply;
In me are, hid affairs of state,
In me the secrets of the great,
In me the merchant lays his dust,
In me the tradesman puts his trust;
But hold—my being to explore.
Know I'm inanimate—no more.
A SHUTTLE-COCK
Tho' light my body is and small,
Tho‘ I have wings to fly withal,
And through the air may rove;
Yet was I not by nature press'd,
In ease and indolence I‘d rest,
And never choose to move.
'Tis beating makes me diligent,
When beat and on an errand sent,
I hurry too and fro;
And like an idle boy at school,
Whom nothing but the rod can rule,
Improve at every blow.
A LETTER.
With a badge on my back,
Of red, orange, or black,
