The hour arrives, the moment wished and feared,
The child is born, by many a pang endeared;
And now the mother's ear has caught his cry;
O! grant the cherub to her asking eye!
He comes, she clasps him, to her bosom pressed,
He drinks the balm of life, and drops to rest.
She, by her smile, how soon the stranger knows;
How soon by his the glad discovery shows!
As to her lips she lifts the lovely boy,
What answering looks of sympathy and joy!
He walks--he speaks--in many a broken word,
His wants, his wishes, and his griefs are heard;
And ever, ever to her lap he flies,
Where rosy sleep comes on with sweet surprise,
Locked in her arms, his arms across her flung,
That name most dear forever on his tongue.
As with soft accents round her neck he clings,
And cheek to cheek her lulling song she sings,
How blest to feel the beating of his heart,
Breathe his sweet breath, and kiss for kiss impart,
Watch o'er his slumbers, like the brooding dove,
And if she can, exhaust a mother's love!

--_From Littell's Living Age._

987

NO ONE SHOULD BE BLAMED FOR HIS INFIRMITIES.

A hound, who in the days of his youth and strength had never yielded to
any beast of the forest, encountered in his old age a boar in the chase.
He seized him boldly by the ear, but could not retain his hold because
of the decay of his teeth, so that the boar escaped. His master, quickly
coming up, fiercely abused the dog. The hound looked up and said: "It
was not my fault, master; my spirit was as good as ever, but I could not
help mine infirmities. I rather deserve to be praised for what I have
been, than to be blamed for what I am."

988

PERSONAL INFLUENCE.

"On a cold winter evening," said Dr. T. L. Cuyler recently, "I made my
first call on a rich merchant in New York. As I left the door and the
piercing gale swept in, I said:

"What an awful night for the poor?

"He said come back for a moment; and in a very few minutes brought me a
roll of bank bills, and said:

"Please hand these for me to the poorest people you know.

"After a few days I wrote him the grateful thanks of the poor whom his
bounty had relieved, and added:

"How is it that a man so kind to his fellow creatures has always been so
unkind to his Saviour as to refuse him his heart?

"That sentence touched him to the core.

"He sent for