But by due effort we the truth may learn.
In the charmed circle of the cheerful hearth
Life’s purest pleasures, richest joys have birth;
Where heart meets heart with confidence serene,
Truth smiles in brightness, Goodness rules benign.
How calmly sweet, how soothing to retire
From pains and toils to peace beside the fire;
Whilst round the blaze, true-hearted friends are met,
In whose gay converse we all care forget.
The merry laugh, the simple playful jest,