Butterfly in a School-Room.
Gay inmate of our studious room.
Adorn'd with nature's brightest dyes,
Whose gadding wing, and tissued plume,
Allure so many wandering eyes.
The breath of eve is gathering bleak,
And thou dost shrink beneath its power,
And faint, or famish'd, seem'st to seek
The essence from yon withering flower
Haste to thine own secluded cell,
And shield thee from the chilling blast,
And let the honied casket well
Supply a fresh and free repast.
Hast thou no home? Didst thou provide
No shelter from autumnal rain?
Hast thou no cheering board supplied
From all the treasures of the plain?
What wilt thou do 'neath wintry skies?
Behold! the charms of summer fade,
Thy friend, the labouring bee, was wise
Ere on their stalks the plants decay'd,
Frail insect! shivering 'mid the storm,
Thy season of delight is past,
And soon that gaudy, graceful form,
Shall stiffen on the whelming blast.
Companions dear! whose frequent glance
Marks yon fair creature's brilliant hue,
Methinks, its wing in frolic dance,
Doth speak in wisdom's lore to you:
Seek not to flutter, and to flaunt,
While a few years their courses roll,
But heed approaching winter's want,
And store the sweetness of the soul.
A Brave Boy.
There are ways in which boys may show true courage, without being forward and bold in contention. It often requires more to avoid it. To show forbearance when they are provoked, or to tell the whole truth when they have committed faults, are proofs of more lofty and high principle than to imitate the fighting animals, and repel force by force, or the fox-like ones, and practise cunning. To live at peace, may need more firmness than to quarrel; because one is to control our passions, and the other to indulge them.
The bravest boy is he who rules himself, and does his duty without boasting. I have known some beautiful instances of this class of virtues, and will mention one that is now in my mind.
A widow, who was the mother of several children, resided in a pleasant part of New England. She faithfully nurtured and instructed them, and one of her precepts was, that when they had any difficult duty to perform, they should ask strength from above. Her youngest was a boy of eight years old, active and intelligent. He was not only obedient to her, but attentive to his studies, and beloved by his instructors.