Page:Beachy Head and Other Poems.pdf/61

Rh

And heath and straggling grass to grow, And half-way down from roots enwreathing, broke The branches of a scathed oak, And seem'd to guard the cave below, Where each revolving year, Their twins, two faithful doves were wont to rear; Choice never join'd a fonder pair; To each their simple home was dear, No discord ever enter'd there; But there the soft affections dwell'd, And three returning springs beheld Secure within their fortress high The little happy family. "Toujours perdrix, messieurs, ne valent rien"— So did a Gallic monarch once harangue, And evil was the day whereon our bird