302 A Merry Tale with a Merry Moral. [MARCH, 



From the ^Egean to the Indian main, 

 Thro' cities, towns and country they proceeded, 



To find one happy man, but sought in vain, 



To furnish them with what so much they needed. 



To Ormus, satraps and bashaws again 



Return'd, and told that they had not succeeded ; 



That for the shirt they search'd in every quarter, 



But found it not on either land or water. 



Thus we oft-times a water-dog have known 



Rush for a stone into a rapid river, 

 Which by his master purposely was thrown, 



And 'neath the water lies conceal'd for ever. 

 The dog looks on the surface for the stone, 



Swimming about ; and after vain endeavour 

 Returns to shore, from which he went much faster, 

 And seems to say, " I cannot find it, master." 



This last happy simile is only Casti's, and all that I have done, I am 

 afraid, is in a degree to spoil it. We have another, equally appropriate, 

 not long afterwards, where the poet is speaking of the brief intervals 

 from toil enjoyed by the lower orders, with my translation of which I 

 am better pleased : 



As we have sometimes seen a frisky ass 



Break from his tether, when it was too frail : 



With ears erect he gallops o'er the grass, 

 Free from restraint, and cocking up his tail. 



He brays, kicks out behind ; but soon, alas ! 

 His freedom's lost his fancied pleasures fail t 



His master comes with whip he often tasted, 



And he's re-brought, re-burden'd, and re-basted. 



We now approach the conclusion of the story. Two of the envoys 

 from Ormus arrive in that part of the east where iParadise is supposed 

 to have been situated : 



Ov' aura allor spiro nitida e pura, 



Efur delizie d'amarezza prive, 

 Ed ove netto stato di natura 



La prima madre e il primo genitore 



Visser felici almen ventiquattr* ore, 



Here they saw a shepherd dancing before two country girls, while a 

 second youth played on his pipe. They seemed so perfectly happy, that 

 the satraps at once felt convinced that they had found the shirt, or, at 

 least, those from whom they could procure it. They rejoiced, there- 

 fore, in the prospect of a speedy termination of their long toils, and 

 asking the shepherds if they were happy, received the following answer 

 from one of them : 



We are but shepherds, and tho' poor, are free ; 



The little we possess is. really ours. 

 On sunny hills we tend our flocks with glee, 



Or in the vallies, green with freshing showers ; 

 The while we dance beneath some shady tree, 



And crown our heads with garlands of sweet flowers. 

 Our wants are few and those our flocks supply- 

 A life of ease, but still of industry. 



Without more ceremony, the two satraps seized upon one of the shep- 

 herds, declaring that they meant him no personal harm, but merely 



