For seldom shall she hear a tale

So sad, so tender, and so true.

William Shenstone (1714-1763): Jemmy Dawson.

O Douglas, O Douglas!

Tendir and trewe.

Sir Richard Holland: The Buke of the Howlat. Stanza xxxi.

To each his suff'rings; all are men,

Condemn'd alike to groan,—

The tender for another's pain,

Th' unfeeling for his own.

Yet ah! why should they know their fate,

Since sorrow never comes too late,

And happiness too swiftly flies?

Thought would destroy their paradise.

No more; where ignorance is bliss,

'T is folly to be wise.

Thomas Gray (1716-1771): On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. Stanza 10.

Tender-handed stroke a nettle,

And it stings you for your pains;

Grasp it like a man of mettle,

And it soft as silk remains.

'T is the same with common natures:

Use 'em kindly, they rebel;

But be rough as nutmeg-graters,

And the rogues obey you well.

Aaron Hill (1685-1750): Verses written on a window in Scotland.