A Simile.

A SIMILE.

By the Same.

WHAT village but has often seen The clumsy shape, the frightful mien, Tremendous claws, and shagged hair, Of that grim brute, yclep'd a Bear? He from his dam, as wits agree, Receiv'd the curious form you see; Who with her plastic tongue alone Produc'd a visage like her own. By which they hint, in mystic fashion, The powerful force of education.

Perhaps yon rural tribe is viewing, E'en now, the strange exploits of Bruin; Who plays his anticks, roars aloud, The wonder of a gaping crowd!

So have I known an aukward lad, Whose birth has made a parish glad, Forbid, for fear of sense, to roam; And taught by kind mamma at home; Who gives him many a well-try'd rule, With ways and means — to play the fool. In sense the same, in stature higher, He shines, ere long, a rural squire; Pours forth unwitty jokes, and swears, And bawls and drinks — but chiefly stares! His tenants of superior sense Carouse and laugh at his expence; And sure the pastime I'm relating Must prove as pleasant as Bear-baiting.