59. TO HIS SAVIOUR, A CHILD: A PRESENT
BY A CHILD.
Go, pretty child, and bear this flower
Unto thy little Saviour;
And tell Him, by that bud now blown,
He is the Rose of Sharon known.
When thou hast said so, stick it there
Upon His bib or stomacher;
And tell Him, for good handsel too,
That thou hast brought a whistle new,
Made of a clean strait oaten reed,
To charm His cries at time of need.
Tell Him, for coral, thou hast none,
But if thou hadst, He should have one;
But poor thou art, and known to be
Even as moneyless as He.
Lastly, if thou canst win a kiss
From those mellifluous lips of His;
Then never take a second on,
To spoil the first impression.
Handsel, earnest money.
60. THE NEW-YEAR'S GIFT.
Let others look for pearl and gold,
Tissues, or tabbies manifold:
One only lock of that sweet hay
Whereon the blessed baby lay,
Or one poor swaddling-clout, shall be
The richest New-Year's gift to me.
Tabbies, shot silks.
61. TO GOD.
If anything delight me for to print
My book, 'tis this: that Thou, my God, art in't.
62. GOD AND THE KING.
How am I bound to Two! God, who doth give
The mind; the king, the means whereby I live.