Retrospect, 2

The pearl for the first, and the case for the second,--
O William Wisetzki, thy days were soon reckon’d,
But the Kitten, the Kitten was saved.

The beam that he clung to, that stretch’d o’er the current
Beneath him broke down, and he sank in the torrent,
But the Kitten, the Kitten was saved.

We follow’d the corpse of this darling of ours,
They buried him under a grave of May flowers,
But the Kitten, the Kitten was saved.

O prudent wert thou, thus early in striving
To ’scape from life’s storms, and in harbour arriving,--
But the Kitten, the Kitten was saved.

Happy thou, that thus early thy danger was over;
Before thou wert ill, thou thy health didst recover,--
But the Kitten, the Kitten was saved.

For many a year have I thought, child so cherish’d,
With envy and grief how thou early hast perish’d,--
But the Kitten, the Kitten was saved.