QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS. BY JAMES MONTGOMERY, ESQ. Q. Flowers, wherefore do ye bloom? Q. Stars, wherefore do ye rise? Q. Fair moon, why dost thou wane? A. That I may wax again. Q. O sun, what makes thy beams so bright? A. The Word that said-"Let there be light." Q. Time, whither dost thou flee? A. I travel to eternity. Q. Eternity, what art thou, say? A. I was, am, will be ever more, to-day. Q. Nature, whence sprang thy glorious frame? A. My Maker called me, and I came. Q. Winds, whence and whither do ye blow? A. Thou must be "born again," to know. Q. Ocean, what rules thy swell and fall? A. The might of Him that ruleth all. Q. Planets, what guides you in your course? A. Unseen, unfelt, unfailing force. Q. O life, what is thy breath? Q. O death, where ends thy strife? Q. O grave, where is thy victory? DISCRETION THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR. A NEW SONG OF ANCIENT PISTOL'S. BY HORATIO SMITH, ESQ. One of the Authors of the "Rejected Addresses." ONE day, as I was strutting, with my customary swagger, A puppy cried out,-" Pistol! you're a coward, though a bragger :" Now, this was an indignity no gentleman could take, Sir ! So I told him, pat and plump,-" you lie ! under a mistake, Sir !" Fools may be fool-hardy, still, but men like me are wiser, And if we get a fighting fame, it is for fighting shy, Sir! Said I," Sir, if you take the wall, you take it to your ruin ;" Then forth he popped his knuckles, and he gave my nose a screwing: "Zounds and fury!" bellows I, "there's no bearing this, at all, Sir!" So I lifted up my cane, and I gave the rogue the wall, Sir! DISCRETION THE BETTER PART OF VALOUR. 63 Fools may be fool-hardy still, but men like me are wiser, And if we get a fighting fame, it is for fighting shy, Sir! I told him, for his insolence I must have satisfaction, When he gave me such a kick that it drove me to distraction; My patience now was overcome, so nobody will wonder That I doubled up my fist, and immediately knocked under! Fools may be fool-hardy still, but men like me are wiser, And if we get a fighting fame, it is for fighting shy, Sir! GLASTONBURY ABBEY AND WELLS CATHEDRAL. Written after viewing the Ruins of the one, and hearing the Church Service, in the other. BY THE REV. W. LISLE BOWLES. GLORY and boast of Avalon's fair vale, The Vale of Avalon was surrounded by waters at the time. King Arthur is described as buried in the Island of Avalon. Part of a sculptured lion remains; and it may be observed, that Leland, in his Itinerary, speaks of " Duo Leones sub pedibus Arthuri." The masonry over the sacred well, discovered by Mr. Warner, is eminently beautiful. It is a singular fact, that the last meeting of the Bible Society was held amidst the august desolation of Glastonbury Abbey. |