Forebearance

Gently I took that which ungently came, And without scorn forgave :--Do thou the same. A wrong done to thee think a cat`s-eye spark Thou wouldst not see, were not thine own heart dark. Thine own keen sense of wrong that thirsts for sin, Fear that--the spark self-kindled from within, Which blown upon will blind thee with its glare, Or smother`d stifle thee with noisome air. Clap on the extinguisher, pull up the blinds, And soon the ventilated spirit finds Its natural daylight. If a foe have kenn`d, Or worse than foe, an alienated friend, A rib of dry rot in thy ship`s stout side, Think it God`s message, and in humble pride With heart of oak replace it ;--thine the gains-- Give him the rotten timber for his pains !