Shrinking from matrimony's tight knot,
I might have acted thus, I say
(Contrariwise, I might not).
In any case to-day I shrink
From thus evading Sorrow's trammels;
A sense of duty bids me think
How costly are the larger mammals;
To kill them just to soothe my mind
Would seem to savour of the wasteful,
A thing all patriot poets find