3

Have you seen the delectable place,
Where honor'd age loves to abide;
Where Plenty, and Pleasure, and Peace,
With Virtue and Wisdom reside?
Autumn's fruits he has carefully stor❜d;
His herds willing tributes abound:
And the smiles of his plenteous board,
By his children's children are crown'd.

4

And his is the godlike delight,

The power to relieve the distress'd! Who can contemplate blessings so bright, And not wish to be equally bless'd. Then let not the means be forgot :

Remember, and mark this great truth; 'Twas not chance fix'd his prosperous lot, 'Twas the virtues of provident Youth.

5

If such a bright prospect can charm,
If you feel emulation arise,
If your juvenile bosom is warm

With the hope to be wealthy and wise ;

O cherish the noble design,

The maxims of Prudence pursue, Application and Industry join,

Thus Plenty and Peace will you woo.

6

Early cultivate Virtue's rich seeds;
These will fruits in life's winter display:
Ne'er defer till to-morrow good deeds,
That as well might be finish'd to-day.
For Age and Experience can tell,

And you'll find, when you grow an old man, Tho' its never too late to do well,

You will wish you had sooner began.

XII.

THE OLD MAN'S WISH.

ALTERED FROM DR. WALTER POPE.

IF I live to grow old, for I find I
go down,
May I live in some village or small country town,
May I have a warm house, and may ever my

And die, if 't please Heav'n, by a gentle

decay.

2

Near a thick shady grove, and a murmuring

brook,

With the ocean at distance whereon I may look ; With a spacious green plain, without hedge, ditch, or stile,

And an easy pad-nag to ride out for awhile.
May I govern, &c.

3

With my Bible, in which may I ev'ry day read, Some author who's sound in his practice and

creed,

With Cowper, Young, Milton, and two or three more

Of the best wits who liv'd in the ages before;

May I govern, &c.

4

With mutton prefer'd e'en to venʼson or teal,
And clean tho' coarse linen at every meal,

With a glass, if my health shall require it, of

wine,

To drink Church and King whensoever I dine: May I govern, &c.

5

With courage, tho' humble, to meet my last

day,

And when in the grave may the rich and poor

say,

"In the morn of his life to his evening's last close

His God he still fear'd, and, we trust, meets repose:

For he govern'd his passions with absolute

sway,

Grew wiser and better as strength wore away, And died trusting to live in a yet brighter day". J. P.

XIII.

THE OLD MAN'S COMFORTS,

AND HOW HE GAINED THEM.

BY ROBERT SOUTHEY.

1

"You are old father William," the young man cried,

"The few locks that are left you are gray: You are hale, father William, a hearty old man Now tell me the reason, I pray."

2

"In the days of my youth," father William replied,

"I remember'd that youth would fly fast, And abus'd not my health and my vigour at first, That I never might need them at last."

3

"You are old, father William," the young man cried,

"And pleasures with youth pass away, And yet you lament not the days that are gone: Now tell me the reason, I pray."

4

"In the days of my youth," father William replied,

"I remember'd that youth could not last;

I thought of the future whatever I did,

That I never might grieve for the past.

5

"You are old, father William," the young man cried,

"And life must be hast'ning away;

You are cheerful, and love to converse upon

Now tell me the reason, I pray."

6

"I am cheerful, young man," father William

replied,

"Let the cause thy attention engage :

In the days of my youth I remember'd my

God,

And he hath not forgotten my age".