Good resolutions thus I make,
And think they are sincere;
Before the night I many break,—
So droops my floweret here."

Then Lucy reared a Holly Tree,
Which finely thrived and grew;
Greener each day it seemed to be,
And lived the winter through.

It leaves were fresh, its roots were strong; It was a lovely tree:

Amid the branches all day long

The birds sang merrily.

Through frost and sunshine, wind and rain,

It stood before the door;

And every day it seemed to gain

More vigor than before.

Children! twelve months have passed away,

And the New Year has come: Plant in your hearts a flower this day, That shall for ever bloom.

Plant the good resolution there,

Each moment to improve;
And so reward your parents' care,

Their kindness, and their love.

Plant it,

and never let it be

Like Lucy's fading flower;
But rather, like the Holly Tree,
Gain strength with every hour.

A CHILD'S MORNING PRAYER.

I THANK thee, Lord, for quiet rest,
And for thy care of me:

Oh! let me through this day be blest,
And kept from harm by thee.

Oh, let me love thee! kind thou art
To children such as I;

Give me a gentle, holy heart,

Be thou my friend on high.

Help me to please my parents dear,
And do whate'er they tell;

Bless all my friends, both far and near,
And keep them safe and well.

NEW YEAR'S EVE.

A LITTLE Sick girl, who was very much beloved, saw the following beautiful lines in the paper, and liked them so much that she said to her mother, "O mother! I never read such beautiful poetry!" It was new year's eve, and she sat down by the fire, and began to sing them; continually stopping and asking her mother if she did not think them beautiful. Her father was

dead, and she had only one sister. Her mother loved her very much; and when she saw her little daughter looking so pale and sick, and` heard her sing so sweetly such a mournful story, and thought that she was just like the little girl in the verses, that, before the lovely flowers were blown, her little girl, who had always been so affectionate and good, would die, she was so sorrowful she had to leave the room. When she came back, little Sarah looked in her face, and, seeing it so sad, said earnestly, "Why, mother, did that poetry make you feel so? feel so? I would not have sung it, had I known it would make you

feel so unhappy." She died in the spring, and the verses were found in her drawer, neatly folded within her own little Bible.

"If you're waking, call me early, call me early, mother dear,

For I would see the sun rise upon the glad new year:

It is the last new year that I shall ever see;

Then ye may lay me low in the mould, and think no more o' me.

There's not a flower on all the hills; the frost is on the

pane;

I only wish to live till the snow-drops come again;

I wish the snow would melt, and the sun come out on high; I long to see a flower so, before the day I die.

I have been wild and wayward, but ye'll forgive me now; Ye'll kiss me, my own mother, upon my cheek and brow: Nay, nay, ye must not weep, nor let your grief be wild; Ye must not weep for me, mother; ye have another child.

If I can, I'll come again, mother, from out my resting-place; Though ye'll not see me, mother, I shall look upon your face ; Though I cannot speak a word, I shall hearken what ye say, And be often and often with you, when ye think I'm far away.

Good night, good night; when I have said good night for evermore,

And ye see me carried out from the threshold of the door, Don't let Effie come to see my grave till it be growing green: She'll be a better child to you than I have ever been.

She'll find my garden-tools upon the granary-floor:

Let her take 'em; they are hers; I shall never garden more: But tell her, when I'm gone, to train the rose-bush that I set About the parlor-window, and the box of mignonette.

Good-night, sweet mother! call me when it begins to dawn;
All night I lie awake, but I fall asleep at morn;
But I would see the sun rise upon the glad new year,
So, if you're waking, call me, call me early, mother dear.”

TENNYSON.

A CHILD'S EVENING PRAYER.

JESUS, tender Shepherd, hear me!
Bless thy little lamb to-night;
Through the darkness be thou near me;
Watch my sleep till morning light.

All this day thy hand has led me,
And I thank thee for thy care;

Thou hast clothed and warmed and fed me,
Listen to my evening prayer.

Let my sins be all forgiven!

Bless the friends I love so well!
Take me, when I die, to Heaven;
Happy, there with thee to dwell.