DOMESTIC HARMONY.

SINCE trifles make the sum of human things,
And half our misery from our foibles springs;
Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease,
And though but few can serve, yet all may please -
O! let the ungentle spirit learn from hence,
A small unkindness is a great offense.

To spread large bounties though we wish in vain,
Yet all may shun the guilt of giving pain.
To bless mankind with tides of flowing wealth,
With rank to grace them, or to crown with health,
Our little lot denies: but Heaven decrees

To all the gift of ministering to ease;
The gentle offices of patient love,
Beyond all flattery, and all price above;

The mild forbearance at another's fault;

The taunting word suppressed as soon as thought;
The kind attention all the peace which springs
From the large aggregate of little things,-
On these small cares of daughter, wife, or friend,
The almost sacred joys of home depend!

A solitary blessing few can find;

Our joys with those we love are intertwined;

And he, whose wakeful tenderness removes

The obstructing thorn which wounds the breast he loves, Smooths not another's rugged path alone,

But scatters roses to perfume his own!

MRS. H. MORE.

THE BEST WISH.

SAY, my child, what would you do,
If a fairy said to you,

"Bid me only wave my hand,

And before me you shall stand,

Changed in mind, and form, and voice,

To whatever is your choice!'

Soon the child's reply is heard:
“I would be a merry bird,
Playing blithely as I please
Ever 'mid the flowers and trees;
In the sunshine all day long,
And my only task a song!

"Flowers and sunshine soon will go :
Think, my child, of frost and snow;
When the forest boughs are bare,
Will the bird be singing there?
Pause a while, and then rejoice
That you can not have your choice.

"Rather be a man of worth,

Prompt to do good deeds on earth;
Work with zeal, your task will prove
Easy as the song you love.

They have sunshine, they have flowers,
Who look back on well-spent hours!"

T. H. BAYLY.

DAVID'S LAMENT FOR SAUL AND JONATHAN.

THE beauty of Israël is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!

Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.

Ye mountains of Gil-bo'a, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.

Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided; they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.

Ye daughters of Israël, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.

How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

BIBLE.

LUCY'S LAMB.

LUCY had a little lamb,

Its fleece was white as snow,
And every where that Lucy went

The lamb was sure to go.

He followed her to school one day,
Which was against the rule;
It made the children laugh and play
To see a lamb at school.

And so the teacher turned him out;
But still he lingered near,
And in the grass he fed about
Till Lucy did appear.

To her he ran, and then he laid
His head upon her arm,
As if to say, "I'm not afraid

You'll shield me from all harm."

"What makes the lamb love Lucy so?" The little children cried.

"O! Lucy loves the lamb, you know," The teacher quick replied.

SONG OF THE MOUNTAIN BOY. THE mountain shepherd-boy am I! Castles and lakes beneath me lie! The sun's first rosy beams are mine; At eve his latest on me shine

I am the mountain-boy!

The flowing torrent here has birth;
I drink it fresh from out the earth;
It gushes from its rocky bed,
I cătch it with my arms outspread!
I am the mountain-boy!

To me belongs the mountain height;
Around me tempests wing their flight;

From north and south their blasts they call;
My song is heard above them all;
I am the mountain-boy!

Thunder and lightnings under me,
The blue expanse above I see;

I greet the storms with friendly tone:
'O, leave my father's cot alone!
I am the mountain-boy!

And when the tocsin calls to arms,
And mountain bale-fires spread alarms,
Then I descend and join the throng,
And swing my sword, and sing my song-

I am the mountain-boy!

FROM THE GERMAN OF UHLAND.

THE THREE HOMES.

"WHERE is thy home?" I asked a child,

Who, in the morning air,

Was twining flowers most sweet and wild
In garlands for her hair.

My home," the happy heart replied,
And smiled in childish glee,
"Is on the sunny mountain side,
Where soft winds wander free."
O! blessings fall on artless youth,
And all its rosy hours,

When every word is joy and truth,
And treasures live in flowers!

"Where is thy home?" I asked of one
Who bent, with flushing face,
To hear a warrior's tender tone,
In the wild wood's secret place.