Two travellers discovered on the beach An Oyster, carried thither by the sea. 'Twas eyed with equal greediness by each; Then came the question whose was it to be. One, stooping down to pounce upon the prize, Was thrust away before his hand could snatch it. "Not quite so quickly," his companion cries; "If <i>you've</i> a claim here, <i>I've</i> a claim to match it; The first that saw it has the better right To its possession; come, you can't deny it." "Well," said his friend, "my orbs are pretty bright, And <i>I</i>, upon my life, was first to spy it." "You? Not at all; or, if you <i>did</i> perceive it, I <i>smelt</i> it long before it was in view; But here's a lawyer coming--let us leave it To him to arbitrate between the two." The lawyer listens with a stolid face, Arrives at his decision in a minute; And, as the shortest way to end the case, Opens the shell and cats the fish within it. The rivals look upon him with dismay:-- "This Court," says he, "awards you each a shell; You've neither of you any costs to pay, And so be happy. Go in peace. Farewell!" How often, when causes to trial are brought, Does the lawyer get pelf and the client get naught! The former will pocket his fees with a sneer, While the latter sneaks off with a flea in his ear. FABLE CLXXIII. THE FRAUDULENT TRUSTEE. Animals I've sung in verse, Memory's daughters aiding; Perhaps I should have done far worse, In other heroes trading. In my book the dogs sit down With wolves in conversation; And beasts dressed up in vest and gown, All sorts, of every nation, Reflect each kind of folly duly, My verse interprets them so truly. Fools there are, and wise there are, But my heroes I can't flatter; For 'tis certain that, by far, The former ones exceed the latter. Swindlers I have painted often-- Brutes whom kindness cannot soften; Tyrants, flatterers, and the crew Who take your gifts, then bite at you. In my pages you'll find many Examples of the utter zany; But chiefly have I had to do With those who say what is not true. The ancient wise man cried aloud, "All men are liars!" Had he stated This fact but of the wretched crowd, E'en then I should have hesitated; But that we mortals, great and small, Both good and bad, are liars all, I should deny at once, of course, Did I not know the maxim's source. But he who lies as Æsop lies, Or, to go a little higher, As old Homer, is no liar; For the charming dreams we prize, With which they have enriched the world, Are brightest truths in fiction furled. The works of such should live for ever; And he who lies like them lies never. But he who should attempt to lie As a Fraudulent Trustee did,