now not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.
_Song_. H.W. LONGFELLOW.

His home, the spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.
_West Indies, Pt. III_. J. MONTGOMERY.

At Christmas play, and make good cheer,
For Christmas comes but once a year.
_The Farmer's Daily Diet_. T. TUSSER.

He kept no Christmas-house for once a year:
Each day his boards were filled with lordly fare.
_A Maiden's Dream_. R. GREENE.

Alike all ages: dames of ancient days
Have led their children through the mirthful maze;
And the gay grandsire, skilled in gestic lore,
Has frisked beneath the burden of threescore.
_The Traveller_. O. GOLDSMITH.

Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,
And while the bubbling and loud hissing urn

Throws up a steamy column, and the cups,
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful evening in.
_The Task: Winter Evening, Bk, IV_. W. COWPER.

HOPE.

True hope is swift, and flies with swallow's wings;
Kings it makes gods, and meaner creatures kings.
_King Richard III., Act v. Sc. 2_. SHAKESPEARE.

Know then, whatever cheerful and serene
Supports the mind, supports the body too;
Hence, the most vital movement mortals feel
Is hope, the balm and lifeblood of the soul.
_Art of Preserving Health, Bk. IV_. J. ARMSTRONG.

O welcome, pure-eyed Faith, white-handed Hope,
Thou hovering angel, girt with golden wings!
_Comus_. MILTON.

Hope! of all ills that men endure,
The only cheap and universal cure!

* * * * *

Hope! thou first-fruits of happiness!
Thou gentle dawning of a bright success!

* * * * *

Brother of Faith! 'twixt whom and thee
The joys of Heaven and Earth divided be!
_For Hope_. A. COWLEY.

Hope! thou nurse of young desire.
_Love in a Village, Act i. Sc. 1_. L. BICKERSTAFF.

Hope, like a cordial, innocent though strong,
Man's heart at once inspirits and serenes;
Nor makes him pay his wisdom for his joys.
_Night Thoughts, Night VII_. DR. E. YOUNG.

Hope, like the glimm'ring taper's light,
Adorns and cheers the way;
And still, as darker grows the night,
Emits a brighter ray.
_The Captivity, Act_ ii. O. GOLDSMITH.

Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought.
_King Henry IV., Pt. II. Act iv Sc. 4