And, children, now rejoice,—

Now—for the holidays of life are few;

Nor let the rustic minstrel tune, in vain,

The crack'd church-viol, resonant to-day,

Of mirth, though humble! Let the fiddle scrape

Its merriment, and let the joyous group

Dance, in a round, for soon the ills of life

Will come! Enough, if one day in the year,

If one brief day, of this brief life, be given

To mirth as innocent as yours!