Page:Poems - Southey (1799) volume 1.djvu/157

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141

On the DEATH
Of a favourite Old SPANIEL.

And they have drown'd thee then at last! poor Phillis!The burthen of old age was heavy on thee,And yet thou should'st have lived! what tho' thine eyeWas dim, and watch'd no more with eager joyThe wonted call that on thy dull sense sunkWith fruitless repetition, the warm SunWould still have cheer'd thy slumber, thou didst loveTo lick the hand that fed thee, and tho' pastYouth's active season, even Life itselfWas comfort. Poor old friend! most earnestlyWould I have pleaded for thee: thou hadst beenStill the companion of my childish sports!And as I roam'd o'er Avon's woody clifts,From many a day-dream has thy short quick barkRecall'd my wandering soul. I have beguil'dOften the melancholy hours at school,Sour'd by some little tyrant, with the thought
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