QUATRAINS.
I.
The oyster turns into a gem
The sand that chafes it long;
My woes, can I not banish them,
I round into a song.
II.
Fear less the villain than the fool.
The villain may be read,
But heaven itself can set no rule
To judge an addled head.
III.
Nurse thou no sorrow, only learn
All that it has to teach,
And lo, a glorious gem shall burn
Upon the brow of each.
IV.
The bard alone immortal is;
In death he liveth still,
And, godlike, with a word of his
Makes deathless whom he will.