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It is a time of joy and hope-of mingled love and fear—

When pure the smile, the thought, the heart, the laughter,

and the tear.

Children.

Little children, not alone

On the dim earth are ye known,
'Mid its sorrows and its snares,
'Mid its sufferings and its cares;
Free from sorrow, free from strife;
In the world of love and life,
Where no sinful thing hath trod,
In the presence of our God,

Spotless, blameless, glorified,

Little children, ye abide.-Mary Howitt.

The smallest are nearest God, as the smallest planets are nearest the sun.-Richter.

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Blessed is the hearth when daughters gird the fire,

And sons that shall be happier than their sire,
Who sees them crowd around his evening chair,
While love and hope inspire his wordless prayer.
O from their home paternal may they go,
With little to unlearn, though much to know!
Them may no poisoned tongue, no evil eye,
Curse for the virtues that refuse to die;

The generous heart, the independent mind,
Till truth, like falsehood, leaves a sting behind!

May temperance crown their feast, and friendship share !

May Pity come, Love's sister spirit, there!

May they shun baseness, as they shun the grave!
May they be frugal, pious, humble, brave!

Sweet peace be theirs-the moonlight of the breast

And occupation, and alternate rest;

And dear to care and thought the rural walk;

Theirs be no flower that withers on the stalk,

But roses cropped, that shall not bloom in vain ;
And Hope's bless'd sun, that sets to rise again.

Be chaste their nuptial bed, their home be sweet,
Their floor resound the tread of little feet;
Bless'd beyond fear and fate, if bless'd by thee,
And heirs, O Love! of thine Eternity.-Elliott.

Christianity.

Lies have been propagated in its name; swarms of vile creatures have made it an inexhaustible prey, and have heaped upon its head abuses scandalous and loathsome. It has had to contend with the desolations of barbarism, the selfish pretences of kings and priests, and the stupified spirits of a down-trodden populace; but it has lived through all. It has suffered that which would have been tenfold death to aught less than divine; and it has even given life and beneficent power to institutions in themselves deadly. Like the fabled lamp of the Rosicruscians, its light has lain buried in the ruins of cities and temples, and has flashed through the chinks of the tombs, till, in these latter times, it has burst on the startled eyes of the explorers, into the waste places of the earth, with a blaze brighter than that of the sun.Howitt.

Christian.

A Christian is the highest style of man.—Addison.

A Christian dwells, like Uriel, in the sun :
Meridian evidence puts doubt to flight;

And ardent hope anticipates the skies.
Read and revere the sacred page; a page
Where triumphs immortality; a page
Which not the whole creation could produce;
Which not the conflagration shall destroy;
In nature's ruins not one letter lost;

-

'Tis printed in the minds of saints for ever.-Young. Christmas.

Well our Christian sires of old

Loved when the year its course had rolled,
And brought blithe Christmas back again,

With all his hospitable train.

Domestic and religious rite
Gave honour to the holy night :
On Christmas eve the bells were rung;
On Christmas eve the mass was sung;
That only night, in all the year,

Saw the stoled priest the chalice rear.
The damsel donned her kirtle sheen;
The hall was dressed with holly green;
Forth to the wood did merry-men go,
To gather in the mistletoe.
Then opened wide the baron's hall
To vassal, tenant, serf, and all;
Power laid his rod of rule aside,
And Ceremony doffed his pride.
The heir, with roses in his shoes,
That night might village partner choose;
The lord, underogating, share

The vulgar game of "post and pair."
All hailed, with uncontrolled delight,
And general voice, the happy night,
That to the cottage, as the crown,
Brought tidings of salvation down.

Cigar Smokers.

Sir Walter Scott.

Automatons with the smoky nuisances of steam-engines, but without the power.

Circumstances.

Trust not to circumstances :-some are rich
But to be wretched blest in others' thought,
And in their own accurst: thus their great fortunes
Are made their chief afflictions.-Shakespere.

Civility.

Civility is the safest capital that can be invested in business, and which will insure the greatest amount of interest.—That which costs nothing, but buys everything.

A rich Quaker was once asked the secret of his success in life; he answered, "Civility, friend, civility." Some people are uncivil, sour, sullen, morose, crabbed, crusty, haughty, clownish, and independent. Remove from such

for your life.

Civilization.

Mankind's struggle upwards, in which millions are trampled to death, that thousands may mount on their bodies.

A magnificent pardon.

Clemency.

Clock.

Time's bookkeeper, who opens accounts with all mankind.

Coals.

Dark things brought to light.-The chief assistant in expeditious travelling.

Coat.

A letter of credit, written with a needle upon broad cloth. - A scabbard that offers no guarantee for the blade it sheathes.

Cold (A).

A cold in the head!

What more need be said,

Uglier, stupider, more ill-bred?
It is by no means

So bad as it seems,
Talk as you please,

In certain degrees,

To be steadily, cleverly, nicely sick.
Every one likes to take their ease;
Likes to be tended and nicely fed,
Petted and waited on, put to bed,
And got up in the morning carefully,
Like a lord or a lady of high degree.

But a cold in the head!
Your eyes they are red,

Your poor upper lip is all swollen and spread;
You talk in a tone

Most unlike your own—

A mixture of snuffle, and sneeze, and

Your head aches, your eyes smart;

You haven't a thought

That can comfort or rouse

groan,

You, or profit you aught.-Boston Advertiser.

Comfort.

Comfort is the daughter of Order, and is descended in a direct line from Wisdom; she is closely allied to Carefulness, Thrift, Honesty, and Religion; she has been educated by Good Sense, Benevolence, Observation, and Experience; and she is the mother of Cleanliness, Economy, Provident Forethought, Virtue, Propriety, and Domestic Happiness.Home Truths.

See MUDDLE.

Company.

Be very circumspect in the choice of thy company. In the society of thine equals thou shalt enjoy more pleasure; in the society of thy superiors thou shalt find more profit; to be the best in the company is the way to grow worse; the best means to grow better is to be the worst there.-Quarles.

- It is certain that either wise bearing or ignorant carriage is caught, as men take diseases, one of another; therefore, let men take heed of their company.-Shakespere.

Complaisance.

Complaisance pleases all, prejudices none, adorns wit, renders humour agreeable, augments friendship, redoubles love, and, complying with justice and generosity, becomes the secret charm of all mankind.

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