mercy
Of a rude stream, that must for ever hide me.
Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye:
I feel my heart new opened. O, how wretched
Is that poor man that hangs on princes' favours!
There is, betwixt that smile we would aspire to,
That sweet aspect of princes, and their ruin,
More pangs and fears than wars or women have;
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer,
Never to hope again.

_William Shakespeare._

The Newsboy

Want any papers, Mister?
Wish you'd buy 'em of me--
Ten year old, an' a fam'ly,
An' bizness dull, you see.
Fact, Boss! There's Tom, an' Tibby,
An' Dad, an' Mam, an' Mam's cat,
None on 'em earning money--
What do you think of that?

_Couldn't Dad work?_ Why yes, Boss,
He's workin' for Gov'ment now--
They give him his board for nothin',
All along of a drunken row,
_An' Mam?_ well, she's in the poor-house,
Been there a year or so,
So I'm taking care of the others,
Doing as well as I know.

_Tibby my sister?_ Not much, Boss,
She's a kitten, a real Maltee;
I picked her up last summer--
Some boys was a drownin' of she;
Throw'd her inter a hogshead;
But a p'liceman came along,
So I jest grabbed up the kitten
And put for home, right strong.

And Tom's my dog; he an' Tibby
Hain't never quarreled yet--
They sleep in my bed in winter
An' keeps me warm--you bet!
Mam's cat sleeps in the corner,
With a piller made of her paw--
Can't she growl like a tiger
If anyone comes to our straw!

_Oughtn't to live so?_ Why, Mister,
What's a feller to do?
Some nights, when I'm tired an' hungry,
Seems as if each on 'em knew--
They'll all three cuddle around me,
Till I get cheery, and say:
Well, p'raps I'll have sisters an' brothers,
An' money an' clothes, too, some day.

But if I do git rich, Boss,
(An' a lecturin' chap one night
Said newsboys could be Presidents
If only they acted right);
So, if I was President, Mister,
The very first thing I'd do,
I'd buy poor Tom an' Tibby
A dinner--an' Mam's cat, too!

None o' your scraps an' leavin's,
But a good square meal for all three;
If you think I'd skimp my friends, Boss,
That shows you don't know _me_.
So 'ere's your papers--come take one,
Gimme a lift if you can--
For now you've heard my story,
You see I'm a fam'ly man!

_E.T. Corbett._

Parting of Marmion and Douglas

Not far advanced was morning day,
When Marmion did his troop array
To Surrey's cam