Lines by Henry VI.

The following touching lines, which have been attributed to Henry VI. were probably written during his long imprisonment in the Tower.

“Kingdoms are but cares,
State is devoid of stay;
Riches are ready snares,
And hasten to decay.
Who meaneth to remove the rock
Out of his slimy mud,
Shall mire himself, and hardly ’scape
The swelling of the flood.”