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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.)

ITHIN 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.