Snug in his arbor sat a scholar, musing
Calmly o'er the philosophic page:
"Flap!" went the leaves of the volume he was using,
Cutting short the lecture of the sage.

"Hey!" said the bookworm, "this I think is taking
Rather too much liberty with me!
Yet I'll not resent it; being bent on making
Use of every thing I hear and see.

"Many, I know, will not their anger stifle,
When as little cause as this, they find
To let it kindle up; but minding every trifle
Is profitless as quarrels with the wind.

"Forth to his business when the Whirlwind sallies,
He is all alive to get it done;--
He on his pathway never lags nor dallies;
But is ever up, and on the run.

"Though ever whirling, never growing dizzy;
Motion gives him buoyancy and power.
All who have known him own that he is busy,
Doing much in half a fleeting hour.

"Oh! there is nothing--when our work's before us,--
Like _despatch;_ for, while our time is brief,
Some sweeping blast may suddenly come o'er us,
Lose our place, and turn another leaf!

"Whirlwind, Whirlwind, though you're but a flurry,
And so odd the business you pursue;--
Though you come on, and are off, in such a hurry,
I have caught a hint; and now adieu!"

=The Disobedient Skater Boys=

Said William to George, "It is New-Year's day!
And now for the pond and the merriest play!
So, on with your cap; and away, away,
We'll off for a frolic and slide,
Be quick--be quick, if you would not be chid
For doing what father and mother forbid;
And under your coat let the skates be hid;
Then over the ice we'll glide."

They're up, and they're off; on their run-away feet
They fasten the skates, when, away they fleet,
Far over the pond, and beyond retreat,
Unconscious of danger near.
But lo! the ice is beginning to bend--
It cracks--it cracks--and their feet descend!
To whom can they look as a helper--a friend?
Their faces are pale with fear.

In their flight to the pond, they had caught the eye
Of a neighboring peasant, who, lingering nigh,
Aware of their danger, and hearing their cry,
Now hastens to give them aid.
As home they are brought, all dripping and cold,
To all who their piteous plight behold,
The worst of the story is plainly told--
Their parents were disobeyed!

=Winter and Spring=

"Adieu!" Father Winter sadly said
To the world, when about withdrawing,
With his old white wig half off his head,
And his icicle fingers thaw