Snug in a country town A pair of friends were settled down. One sigh'd unceasingly to find A fortune better to his mind, And, as he chanced his friend to meet, Proposed to quit their dull retreat. 'No prophet can to honour come,' Said he, 'unless he quits his home; Let's seek our fortune far and wide.' 'Seek, if you please,' his friend replied: 'For one, I do not wish to see A better clime or destiny. I leave the search and prize to you; Your restless humour please pursue! You'll soon come back again. I vow to nap it here till then.' The enterprising, or ambitious, Or, if you please, the avaricious, Betook him to the road. The morrow brought him to a place The flaunting goddess ought to grace As her particular abode-- I mean the court--whereat he staid, And plans for seizing Fortune laid. He rose, and dress'd, and dined, and went to bed, Exactly as the fashion led: In short, he did whate'er he could, But never found the promised good. Said he, 'Now somewhere else I'll try-- And yet I fail'd I know not why; For Fortune here is much at home To this and that I see her come, Astonishingly kind to some. And, truly, it is hard to see The reason why she slips from me. 'Tis true, perhaps, as I've been told, That spirits here may be too bold. To courts and courtiers all I bid adieu; Deceitful shadows they pursue. The dame has temples in Surat; I'll go and see them--that is flat.' To say so was t' embark at once. O, human hearts are made of bronze! His must have been of adamant, Beyond the power of Death to daunt, Who ventured first this route to try, And all its frightful risks defy. 'Twas more than once our venturous wight Did homeward turn his aching sight, When pirate's, rocks, and calms and storms, Presented death in frightful forms-- Death sought with pains on distant shores, Which soon as wish'd for would have come, Had he not left the peaceful doors Of his despised but blessed home. Arrived, at length, in Hindostan, The people told our wayward man That Fortune, ever void of plan, Dispensed her favours in Japan. And on he went, the weary sea His vessel bearing lazily. This lesson, taught by savage men, Was after all his only gain:-- Contented in thy country stay, And seek thy wealth in nature's way. Japan refused to him, no less Than Hindostan, success; And hence his judgment came to make His quitting home a great mistake. Renouncing his ungrateful course, He hasten'd back with all his force; And when his village came in sight, His tears were proof of his delight. 'Ah, happy he,' exclaimed the wight, 'Who, dwelling there with mind sedate, Employs himself to regulate His ever-hatching, wild desires; Who checks his heart when it aspires