I plucked it right out, when it thus to me said:

“Thou mayest smile, if thou wilt, at thy treatment of me,

But a score of my friends soon will make mock of thee.”

II

The Song of the Pen. By Alcharizi[[67-3]].

My Muse, though airy, glides softly along,

Singing full oft a voiceless song;

My pen, though frail and slim of figure,

Has a serpent's tooth and a lion's vigour.

III