| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | On a Spaniel, Called ‘Beau,’ Killing a Young Bird | | By William Cowper (1731–1800) |
| | | A SPANIEL, Beau, that fares like you, | |
| Well fed, and at his ease, | |
| Should wiser be than to pursue | |
| Each trifle that he sees. | |
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| But you have killed a tiny bird | 5 |
| Which flew not till to-day, | |
| Against my orders, whom you heard | |
| Forbidding you the prey. | |
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| Nor did you kill that you might eat | |
| And ease a doggish pain; | 10 |
| For him, though chased with furious heat, | |
| You left where he was slain. | |
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| Nor was he of the thievish sort, | |
| Or one whom blood allures, | |
| But innocent was all his sport | 15 |
| Whom you have torn for yours. | |
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| My dog! what remedy remains, | |
| Since, teach you all I can, | |
| I see you, after all my pains, | |
| So much resemble man? | 20 | | | |
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