Stories and Poems — Hannah More

THE FOOLISH TRAVELERA GOOD INN IS A BAD HOMEBy Hannah More There was a prince of high degree,As great and good as prince could be;Much power and wealth were in his hand,With lands and lordships at command. One son, a favorite son, he had,An idle, thoughtless kind of lad;Whom, spite of all his follies passed,He meant to make his heir at last. The son escaped to foreign lands,And broke his gracious sire’s commands;Far, as he fancied, from his sight,In each low joy he took delight. The youth, detesting peace and quiet,Indulged in vice, expense, and riot;Of each wild pleasure rashly tasted,Till...

TURN THE CARPET OR, THE TWO WEAVERS IN A DIALOGUE BETWEEN DICK AND JOHN By Hannah More As at their work two weavers sat,Beguiling time with friendly chat,They touched upon the price of meat,So high, a weaver scarce could eat. “What with my brats and sickly wife,”Quoth Dick, “I’m almost tired of life;So hard my work, so poor my fare,’Tis more than mortal man can bear. “How glorious is the rich man’s state!His house so fine! his wealth so great!Heaven is unjust, you must agree;Why all to him? why none to me? “In spite of what the Scripture teaches,In spite...

THE PLUM-CAKESor, The Farmer and His Three SonsBy Hannah More A farmer, who some wealth possessed,With three fine boys was also blessed;The lads were healthy, stout, and young,And neither wanted sense nor tongue.Tom, Will, and Jack, like other boys,Loved tops and marbles, sport and toys.The father scouted that false plan,That money only makes the man;But, to the best of his discerning,Was bent on giving them good learning:He was a man of observation,No scholar, yet had penetration;So, with due care, a school he sought,Where his young sons might well be taught.Quoth he, “I know not which rehearsesMost properly his themes or...

THE LADY AND THE PIE OR, KNOW THYSELF By Hannah More A worthy squire, of sober life,Had a conceited, boasting wife:Of him she daily made complaint;Herself she thought a very saint.She loved to load mankind with blameAnd on their errors build her fame.Her favorite subject of disputeWas Eve and the forbidden fruit.“Had I been Eve,” she often cried,“Man had not fallen, nor woman died;I still had kept the orders given,Nor for an apple lost my heaven;To gratify my curious mindI ne’er had ruined all mankind;Nor, from a vain desire to know,Entailed on all my race such wo.” The squire replied,...

THE TWO GARDENERSBy Hannah More Two gardeners once beneath an oakLay down to rest, when Jack thus spoke—“You must confess, dear Will, that NatureIs but a blundering kind of creature;And I—nay, why that look of terror?Could teach her how to mend her error.”“Your talk,” quoth Will, “is bold and odd;What you call Nature, I call God.”“Well, call him by what name you will.”Quoth Jack, “he manages but ill;Nay, from the very tree we’re under,I’ll prove that Providence can blunder.”Quoth Will, “Through thick and thin you dash;I shudder, Jack, at words so rash;I trust to what the Scriptures tell—He hath done...