Page 23 - Poetry-Animals
P. 23
Th’ astonished bear desists,
Such praise who could expect?
It clears away the mists
That dimm’d his intellect.
“’Tis true! the monkey says,
That I can ne’er succeed;
But, when the hog can praise,
I must be bad indeed!”
* * * * * * *
A wise man’s condemnation
Makes us feel uncivil,
But a dunce’s approbation
Low’rs us to his level.
— Ximena (Girl’s Own Paper, 1884)
~ 21 ~