St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1879-05-16
Friar Philips Goose.
Nriar Philip lost his wife.

Poor Friar Philip lost his wife,
The charm and comfort of his life;
He mourned her not like modern men,
For women were worth having then.
The world was altered in his view;
All things put on yellow hue;
E'en ladies, once his chief delight,
Were now oppressive to his sight.
In short, he pined, and looked so i'll
The doctor hoped to get bill.
at last he made 4 vow to fly,
To hide himself from every eye,
Take up his lodging in wood,
To turn n hermit and grow good.
He had a child, now yOu must know,
About a twelvemonth old or so;
Him Philip took up in his arms,
To snatch him from all f,.male charms,
Resolved that he should never know
There were such things as girls below,
But lead an honest hermit's life;
For" said he, "he would lose his wife"
The place he chose for his retreat
Was once a lions country seat.
Far in a wild. romantic wood
The hcrmits little cottage stood
Hid by the trees from human view
The sun himself could scarce get through
little garden titled with care
Supplied them with their daily fare;
Fresh water-cresses from the spring,
Gurnips and green's or some such thing;
Hermits don't care much what they eat,
An appetite can make it sweet.
Twas here our little hermit grew;
His father taught him all he knew,
Adapting, like cheerful sage,
His lessons to his pupils age.
At five years old he showed him flowers,
Taught him their various names and powers
Then talked oflions. wolves and bears,
Things children hear with all their ears;
Taught him to blow upon reed,
To say his prayers and get the creed
At ten he lectured him on herbs,
Better than learning nouns and verbs),
The names and qualities of trees.
Manners and customs of the bees;
Then talked of oysters full of pearls,
But not word about the girls.
At fifteen years he turned his eyes
To view the wonders of the skies
Called all the stars by their right names,
AS you would call on John or James,
And showed him all the signs above,
But not a whisper about love
And yet he had not learned to sigh;
Had sleep and appetite to spare;
He did not know the name of care.
And a" because he did not know
There were such things as girls below.
But now a tempest ragged around,
The hermit's little hut was drowned
GoOd-by. then, to poor Philips crop,
1t did not leave n trrnip top.
Poor Philip grieved, and his son too;
They prayed-they knew not what to do.
If they were hermits they must live,
And wolves have not much aims to give.
Now in his native town he knew
He had disciples, rich ones too,
Who would not let him beg in vain,
But set the hermit up again.
But what to do with his Young SON
Pray tell me-what would you have dOne2
Take him to town he was afraid
For what if he should see a maidY
Leave him at home-the wolves, the bears
Poor Philip had fathers fears
| In short, he knew not what to do
At last he thought to take him too,
And so with truly piOus care
He made good, lOng-winded prayer,
Intended a sort of charm
To keep his darling lad from harm,
That is, from pretty ladies' wiles,
Especially their eyes and smiles
ri,~,. t-->-.l1 Lis gIay,
And to the city took their way.
1t was town, they all agree,
Where there was everything to see
As painting statues and so on,
All that men love to look upon
Our little lad, you may suppose,
Had never seen so many shows;
lie stands with open mouth and eyes
Like one just fallen from the skies,
Pointing at everything he secs
WHATS thisF' What's thatl" ''Oh, he
what's these2"
At last he sees a charming thing
That men call angels when they sing.
Young ladies when they speak in prose-
Sweet things, as everybody knows
Transported, ravished at the sight,
He feels a strange, a sweet delight.
whats this What's thisl OH Heavens
cries,
THAT looks so sweetly with its eyes?
Say, can 1 catch it? Is it tameq
What is it it, father What's its nameY''
Poor Phi p knew not what to say,
But tried to draw his eyes away
He crossed himself and made a vow,
'''Tis as feared-a"s over now"
Then, 'Prithee, have thy wits got loosel
It's bird that men call a goose"
"A goose! Oh! pretty, pretty thingl
And can it sing, tOO-can it sing
Oh, come, come quickly, let US run,
That's good father, catch me one
Wen take it tn us to our cell,