Mary Barber (ca. 1685-1755)
Written for my Son, and Spoken by Him in School, upon his Master's First Bringing in a Rod
1OUR master, in a fatal hour,
2Brought in this Rod, to shew his pow'r.
3O dreadful birch ! O baleful tree !
4Thou instrument of tyranny !
5Thou deadly damp to youthful joys !
6The sight of thee our peace destroys.
7Not Damocles, with greater dread,
8Beheld the weapon o'er his head.
9That sage was surely more discerning,
10Who taught to play us into learning,
11By graving letters on the dice :
12May heav'n reward the kind device,
13And crown him with immortal fame,
14Who taught at once to read and game !
15Take my advice ; pursue that rule ;
16You'll make a fortune by your school.
17You'll soon have all the elder brothers,
18And be the darling of the mothers.
19O may I live to hail the day,
20When boys shall go to school to play !
21To grammar rules we'll bid defiance ;
22For play will then become a science.
Notes
9] That sage: See Locke upon Education (Barber's note).
15] Bowing to his master (Barber's note).
Online text copyright © 2009, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: Poems by Eminent Ladies (London: R. Baldwin, 1755): I, 21-22. B-10 6457 Fisher Rare Book Library
First publication date:
1755
RPO poem editor: Ian Lancashire
RP edition: RPO 1996-2000.
Recent editing: 2:2002/1/16
Form: couplets
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