Page:Fables by La Fontaine translated by Elizur Wright.djvu/94

26 THE FABLES OF LA FONTAINE. Wife, children, soldiers, landlords, public tax, All wait the swinging of his old, worn axe, And paint the veriest picture of a man unblest. On Death he calls. Forthwith that monarch grim Appears, and asks what he should do for him. 'Not much, indeed; a little help I lack,— To put these fagots on my back.'


 * Death ready stands all ills to cure;
 * But let us not his cure invite.
 * Than die, 't is better to endure,—
 * Is both a manly maxim and a right.


 * of middle age, whose hair
 * Was bordering on the grey,
 * Began to turn his thoughts and care
 * The matrimonial way.
 * By virtue of his ready,
 * A store of choices had he
 * Of ladies bent to suit his taste;
 * On which account he made no haste.
 * To court well was no trifling art.
 * Two widows chiefly gained his heart: