THE OLD OAKEN BUCKET.

[Illustration:  H]

  How dear to my heart are the scenes of my childhood,
    When fond recollection presents them to view;
  The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wild-wood,
    And every loved spot which my infancy knew;
  The wide-spreading pond, and the mill that stood by it,
    The bridge, and the rock where the cataract fell;
  The cot of my father, the dairy-house nigh it,
    And e’en the rude bucket which hung in the well. 
      The old oaken bucket—­the iron-bound bucket—­
      The moss-covered bucket which hung in the well.

  That moss-covered vessel I hail as a treasure—­
    For often, at noon, when returned from the field,
  I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure,
    The purest and sweetest that nature can yield. 
  How ardent I seized it, with hands that were glowing,
    And quick to the white-pebbled bottom it fell;
  Then soon, with the emblem of truth overflowing,
    And dripping with coolness, it rose from the well. 
      The old oaken bucket—­the iron-bound bucket—­
      The moss-covered bucket arose from the well.

  How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it,
    As, poised on the curb, it inclined to my lips! 
  Not a full, blushing goblet could tempt me to leave it,
    Though filled with the nectar that Jupiter sips. 
  And now, far removed from that loved situation,
    The tear of regret will intrusively swell,
  As fancy reverts to my father’s plantation,
    And sighs for the bucket which hangs in the well. 
      The old oaken bucket—­the iron-bound bucket—­
      The moss-covered bucket which hangs in the well.

[Illustration]

THE GOOD-NATURED GIRLS.

[Illustration:  T]

  Two good little girls, Julia-Ann and Maria,
  As happily lived as good girls could desire;
  And though they were neither grave, sullen, nor mute,
  They seldom or never were heard to dispute.

  If one wants a thing that the other could get,
  They don’t go to scratching and fighting for it;
  But each one is willing to give up her right,
  For they’d rather have nothing than quarrel and fight.

  If one of them happens to have something nice,
  Directly she offers her sister a slice;
  And not like to some greedy children I’ve known,
  Who would go in a corner to eat it alone.

  When papa or mamma had a thing to be clone,
  These good little girls would immediately run;
  And not stand disputing to which it belonged,
  And grumble and fret and declare they were wronged.

  Whatever occurred in their work or their play,
  They were willing to yield and give up their own way;
  Then let us all try their example to mind,
  And always, like them, be obliging and kind.