Ye Cits who at White Conduit House, Hampstead or Holloway carouse, Let no vain wish disturb ye; For rural pleasures unexplored, Take those your Sabbath strolls afford, And prize your _Rus in urbe_. For many who from active trades Have plung'd into sequester'd shades, Will dismally assure ye, That it's a harder task to bear Th' ennui produced by country air, And sigh for _Urbs in rure_. The cub in prison born and fed, The bird that in a cage was bred, The hutch-engender'd rabbit, Are like the long-imprison'd Cit, For sudden liberty unfit, Degenerate by habit. Sir William Curtis, were he mew'd In some romantic solitude, A bower of rose and myrtle, Would find the loving turtle dove No succedaneum for his love Of London Tavern turtle. Sir Astley Cooper, cloy'd with wealth, Sick of luxurious ease and health, And rural meditation, Sighs for his useful London life, The restless night--the saw and knife Of daily amputation. Habit is second nature--when It supersedes the first, wise men Receive it as a warning, That total change comes then too late, And they must e'en assimilate Life's evening to its morning. Thrice happy he whose mind has sprung From Mammon's yoke while yet unwrung Or spoilt for nobler duty:-- Who still can gaze on Nature's face With all a lover's zeal, and trace In every change a beauty. No tedium vitae round him lowers, The charms of contrast wing his hours, And every scene embellish:-- From prison, City, care set free, He tastes his present liberty With keener zest and relish. _New Monthly Mag_. * * * * * THE GATHERER. A snapper up of unconsidered trifles. SHAKSPEARE. * * * * * ACCOMMODATION FOR THREE HALFPENCE. A gentleman on a wet evening entered the bar of an inn, and while standing before the fire, called to a servant girl who had come to receive his orders, "Margaret, bring me a glass of ale, a clean pipe, a spitoon, a pair of snuffers, and the newspaper. And Margaret, take away my great coat, carry it into the kitchen, and hang it before the fire to dry, and dry my umbrella, and tell me what o'clock it is; and if Mr. Huggins should come in, request him to come this way, for I think 'tis near seven, and he promised to meet me at that hour. And Margaret, get me change for a sovereign, and see that all the change is good, take for the glass of ale out of it, and put the coppers in a piece of paper. And Margaret, tell Jemima to bring some more coals, take away the ashes, and wipe the table. And Margaret, pull down the blinds, shut the door, and put-to the window-shutters."--N.B. The gentleman had his own tobacco. * * * * * TWO EVILS, (EXTEMPORE.)