Pure JOY, poor mortals seldom find;
Her footman, SORROW, waits behind:
And FATE impartial deals to all
The honey'd potion mix'd with gall.
This pair, on an unhappy day,
Too far together chanc'd to stray;
Benighted, and with snares beset,
Our MARS and VENUS in a net,
Alas! were caught. — O change of state!
A little cage is now their fate.
No more they seek the spacious grove:
No more they burn with mutual love:
Their passion changes with their life;
And soon they fall from love to strife.
Their little souls with growing rage
High swell; they flutter round the cage:
Forget the slender twig, where late
Close side by side in love they sate;
One perch is now too small to hold
The fiery mate and chirping scold:
They peck each other o'er their food;
And thirst to drink each other's blood.
Two cages must the pair divide;
Or death the quarrel will decide.