IMPROVEMENT.
How many poor children I see every day
Who have no one to guide them aright!
No wonder in vice they should wander astray,
And in all that is evil delight.
But I, who have got a good Bible to read,
And parents so anxious and kind,
Shall prove myself vile and ungrateful indeed
If I still am perversely inclined.
These blessings will rise at God's terrible bar,
If I do not grow better by them;
And my Bible, neglected, will also be there,
And my friends and my teachers condemn.
Then let me attend, and make haste to improve,
With every fresh season that's given,
And pray to the Lord of all mercy and love
To train me for virtue and heaven.