49. THE BEST KEPT TILL LAST. Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. St. John ii. 10. THE heart of childhood is all mirth: We frolic to and fro As free and blithe, as if on earth But if, indeed, with reckless faith Too surely, every setting day, Why should we fear, youth's draught of joy, Who but a Christian, through all life Who, through the world's sad day of strife, Fathers may hate us or forsake, But we shall still have Thee. We may look home, and seek in vain But Christ hath giv'n his promise plain, Nor shall dull age, as worldlings say, Ever the richest, tenderest glow But there life fails: no heart may know Such is thy banquet, dearest Lord; Our lot with thine,- to trust thy word,― And keep our best till last! KEBLE. 50. SATURDAY AFTERNOON. LOVE to look on a scene like this, And persuade myself that I am not old, For it stirs the blood in an old man's heart, And it makes his pulses fly, To catch the thrill of a happy voice, And the light of a pleasant eye. I have walk'd the earth for fourscore years; Play on, play on; I am with you there, And my feet slip on the reedy floor, And I care not for the fall. I am willing to die when my time shall come. For the world, at best, is a weary place, But the grave is dark, and the heart will fail And it wiles my heart from its dreariness, N. P. WILLIS. IN 51. CARDINAL WOLSEY. [From THE VANITY OF HUMAN WISHES.] full-blown dignity see Wolsey stand, Law in his voice, and fortune in his hand : To him the church, the realm, their pow'rs consign, Still to new heights his restless wishes tow'r, At length his sovereign frowns. the train of state Mark the keen glance, and watch the sign to hate. Where'er he turns, he meets a stranger's eye, His suppliants scorn him, and his followers fly; Now drops at once the pride of awful state, The golden canopy, the glittering plate, The regal palace, the luxurious board, The liveried army, and the menial lord. With age, with cares, with maladies oppress'd, He seeks the refuge of monastic rest: Grief aids disease, remember'd folly stings, And his last sighs reproach the faith of kings. DR. JOHNSON. 52. THE PAPER KITE. NCE on a time, a Paper Kite ONCE Had mounted to a wondrous height, "See, how yon crowds of gazing people It tugg'd and pull'd, while thus it spoke, The winds soon plung'd it in the tide. My heart replied: "O Lord, I see How much this kite resembles me! Forgetful that by thee I stand, Impatient of thy ruling hand, |