William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Georgian Verse. 1909.
Beaus ReplyWilliam Cowper (17311800)
S
In spite of your command,
A louder voice than yours I heard,
And harder to withstand.
A mightier cried ‘Proceed!’—
’Twas Nature, sir, whose strong behest
Impelled me to the deed.
I ventured once to break
(As you perhaps may recollect)
Her precept for your sake;
Passing his prison door,
Had fluttered all his strength away,
And panting pressed the floor,
Not destined to my tooth,
I only kissed his ruffled wing,
And licked the feathers smooth.
My disobedience now,
Nor some reproof yourself refuse
From your aggrieved Bow-wow;
(Which I can hardly see),
What think you, sir, of killing Time
With verse addressed to me?