Ay, let it pass—for ill would it beseem
So staid a man to be at all deprest
By visionary fears or superstitious dread,
Whilst Heaven is showering mercies on his head.
VIII.
“Waban,” he said, “a generous feast prepare,
We can be cheerful, and yet not be mad;
The good man’s smiles may be a praise or prayer;
The wicked only should be very sad.
God feeds the birds, my Mary, in the air,—