May Providence show the way to bring Her voice to be mine, with me to stay, While softly my life may wear away, Summer by summer, spring by spring.

I AND THE DOG

As I was wont to straggle out

To your house, oh! how glad the dog,
With low-put nose, would nimbly jog,
Along my path and hunt about ;
And his great pleasure was to run
By timber'd hedge and banky ledge,
And ended where my own begun,
At your old door and stonen floor.

And there, as time was gliding by, With me so quick, with him so slow, How he would look at me, and blow, From time to time, a whining sigh,

That meant, 'Now come along the land,
With timber'd knolls, and rabbit holes,
I can't think what you have on hand,
With this young face, in this old place.'

THE SURPRISE

As there I left the road in May,
And took my way along a ground,
I found a glade with girls at play,
By leafy boughs close-hemm'd around,
And there, with stores of harmless joys,
They plied their tongues, in merry noise.
Though little did they seem to fear

So queer a stranger might be near,

Teeh-hee! Look here! Hah! ha! Look there!

And oh so playsome, oh! so fair.

And one would dance as one would spring,

Or bob or bow with leering smiles,

And one would swing, or sit and sing,

Or sew a stitch or two at whiles,

And one skipp'd on with downcast face,

All heedless, to my very place,

And there, in fright, with one foot out,

Made one dead step and turn'd about.

Heeh, hee, oh! oh! ooh! oo! Look there! And oh so playsome, oh! so fair.

Away they scamper'd all, full speed,

By boughs that swung along their track,
As rabbits out of wood at feed,

At sight of men all scamper back.
And one pull'd on behind her heel,
A thread of cotton, off her reel,
And oh to follow that white clue,

I felt I fain could scamper too.

Teeh, hee, run here. Eeh! ee! look there! And oh so playsome, oh! so fair.

D