Lady Bird! Lady Bird! don't make a fuss--
You've mighty small matters to give;
Your coral and jet, and ... there, there--you can tack
A codicil on, if you live.
Lady Bird! Lady Bird! fly away now
To your house in the old willow-tree,
Where your children, so dear, have invited the ant.
And a few cozy neighbours, to tea.
Lady Bird! Lady Bird! fly away home,
And if not gobbled up by the way,
Nor yoked by the fairies to Oberon's car,
You're in luck--and that's all I've to say.
_Ibid_.
* * * * *
"THE OLD MANOR HOUSE."
The following circumstances respecting the foundation upon which Charlotte
Smith built her popular novel, "The Old Manor House," may probably prove
interesting to the public. Near Woodcot, where Mrs. Smith resided at the
time she commenced her novel, was a very old house and domain called
Brookwood, in which resided some Misses Venables, elderly maiden ladies,
whom our authoress visited; and her acquaintance with them and their
abode, gave her the idea of her romance. They kept an old housekeeper,--
one whom we may presume was quite in _keeping_ with the _house_,--whose
niece or daughter was per favour allowed to reside with her at Brookwood--
this girl, I need scarcely say, was the Monimia of the novel, nor was her
Orlando a feigned character, although a highly-ornamented one; in truth,
alas! for the shadowy beauty of romance, alas! for the spell of gorgeous
poesy, he was not more made for a hero than was Dulcinea del Toboso for a
heroine, being _the young butcher of the village_!! "Often and often,"
said the intelligent friend who favoured me with the account, "has he
supplied our family with meat when we resided at Brookwood, and the
beautiful Monimia, his wife, is only slightly disfigured by an interesting
_squint_.
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