Page:Tales of instruction, in verse and prose.pdf/13



AN is deceiv'd by outward ſhow—

'Tis a plain home-ſpun truth, I know;

The fraud prevails at ev'ry age,

So ſays the ſchool boy and the ſage;

Yet ſtill we hug the dear deceit,

And ſtill exclaim againſt the cheat.

But whence this inconſiſtent part?

Say, moraliſts, who know the heart:

If you'll this labyrinth purſue,

I'll go before and find the clue.

I dreamt ('twas on a birth-day night)

A ſumptuous palace roſe to fight:

The builder had, thro' ev'ry part,

Obſerv'd the chaſteſt rules of art;

Raphael and Titian had diſplay'd

All the full force of light and ſhade;

Around the liv'ry'd ſervants wait

An aged porter kept the gate.