COTTAGE LIFE.
Oh! happy cottage life,
Far from foul gain, and rude ambitious strife!
And oh thrice happy ye,
Who innocent and free
Dwell in your village homes with plenty rife!
Happy to watch the morn
’Mid rosy clouds in the rich orient born!
Happy to fill the pail,
In some sequestered vale,
Or spin the fleece, or shell the golden corn!
Happy your friend to rear,
Some snowy lamb, or weanling heifer dear—
For they will ne’er forget,
When once their love is set,
But will your footsteps follow, far and near.
Happy to live at ease
’Mid rural blessings, and domestic peace—
Thrice happy, when ye die,
Beside your sires to lie
In the old churchyard, ’neath the ancestral trees.