Who needlessly sets foot upon a worm.

An inadvertent step may crush the snail

That crawls at evening in the public path,

But he that hath humanity, forewarned

Will step aside, and let the reptile live.

The creeping vermin, loathsome to the sight,

And charged with venom, that intrudes—

A visitor, unwelcome unto scenes

Sacred to nature and repose:—the bower,

The chamber, or the hall—may die;