| William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909. | | | | The Heron | | By Edward Hovell-Thurlow, Lord Thurlow (1781–1829) |
| | | O MELANCHOLY Bird, a winter’s day, | |
| Thou standest by the margin of the pool, | |
| And, taught by God, dost thy whole being school | |
| To Patience, which all evil can allay. | |
| God has appointed thee the Fish thy prey; | 5 |
| And giv’n thyself a lesson to the Fool | |
| Unthrifty, to submit to moral rule, | |
| And his unthinking course by thee to weigh. | |
| There need not schools, nor the Professor’s chair, | |
| Though these be good, true wisdom to impart; | 10 |
| He, who has not enough for these to spare, | |
| Of time, or gold, may yet amend his heart, | |
| And teach his soul, by brooks and rivers fair: | |
| Nature is always wise in every part. | | | | |
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