TO A LITTLE CHARMER.
From the German of Lessing.
Come kiss me, little Charmer,
Nor suppose a kiss can harm you;
Kisses given, kisses taken,
Cannot now your fears awaken;
Give me then a hundred kisses
Number well those sweetest blisses,
And, on my life, I tell you true,
Tenfold I'll repay what's due,
When to snatch a kiss is bolder
And my fair one's ten years older.
Weekly Mag., II-30, May 5, 1798, Phila.
[G. E. Lessing, An eine kleine Schöne.]
For the Weekly Magazine.
THE SWALLOW. A FABLE.
(From the German of Lessing.)
Believe me, my friend, the great world is not suited to philosophers or poets. We are insensible to their real worth; and they, alas! are often weak enough to exchange it for a mere nothing.
In early ages the swallow was as tuneful and melodious a bird as the nightingale; but she soon became weary of residing in solitary groves to excite the admiration of none but the industrious peasant and the innocent shepherdess. She left her humble friends, and removed into town. What was the consequence? As the inhabitants of the city had not leisure to attend to her divine song, she gradually forgot it, and in its stead learned to—build.