Page:Poems Cook.djvu/157

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OLD PINCHER.
Poodle, spaniel, and greyhound, were brought for my care,
Of beauty and breed reckon'd preciously rare;
But the playmate of infancy, friend of my youth,
Was link'd with a lasting affection and truth.

He was never supplanted; nay, mention him now,
And a something of shadow will steal from my brow:
"Poor fellow!" will burst in such tone of regret,
That whispers my heart is his lurking-place yet.

No wonder; for Memory brings back with him
The thoughts that will render the lightest eye dim;
He is mingled with all that I idolized most;
The brightest, the purest, the loved, and the lost.

The smile of a parent, the dearest, the best,
The joys of my forest home spring to my breast;
And those days reappear with a halo divine,
When a mother, old Pincher, and childhood were mine.


FIRE.
Blandly glowing, richly bright,
Cheering star of social light;
While I gently heap it higher,
How I bless thee, sparkling fire!
Who loves not the kindly rays
Streaming from the temper'd blaze?

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