BETTER THINGS.

Better to smell the violet cool, than sip the glowing wine; Better to hark a hidden brook, than watch a diamond shine. Better the love of a gentle heart, than beauty's favor proud; Better the rose's living seed, than roses in a crowd. Better to love in loneliness, than to bask in love all day; Better the fountain in the heart, than the fountain by the way. Better be fed by a mother's hand, than eat alone at will; Better to trust in God, than say: "My goods my storehouse fill." Better to be a little wise, than in knowledge to abound; Better to teach a child, than toil to fill perfection's round. Better to sit at a master's feet, than thrill a listening State; Better suspect that thou art proud, than be sure that thou art great. Better to walk the real unseen, than watch the hour's event; Better the "Well done!" at the last, than the air with shouting rent. Better to have a quiet grief, than a hurrying delight; Better the twilight of the dawn, than the noonday burning bright. Better a death when work is done, than earth's most favored birth; Better a child in God's great house, than the king of all the earth.