(A book.) [Illustration] I’m a strange contradiction; I’m new, and I’m old, I’m often in tatters and oft decked with gold. Though I never could read, yet lettered I’m found; Though blind, I enlighten; though loose, I am bound; I’m always in black, and I’m always in white; I’m grave and I’m gay, I am heavy and light— In form, too, I differ—I’m thick and I’m thin, I’ve no flesh and no bones, yet I’m covered with skin; I’ve more points than the compass, more stops than the flute; I sing without voice, without speaking confute. I’m English, I’m German, I’m French, and I’m Dutch; Some love me too fondly, some slight me too much; I often die soon, though I sometimes live ages, And no monarch alive has so many pages. —_Hannah More._ A BOY’S SONG. Where the pools are bright and deep, Where the gray trout lies asleep, Up the river and o’er the lea, That’s the way for Billy and me. Where the blackbird sings the latest, Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest, Where the nestlings chirp and flee, That’s the way for Billy and me. Where the mowers mow the cleanest, Where the hay lies thick and greenest, There to trace the homeward bee, That’s the way for Billy and me. Where the hazel bank is steepest, Where the shadow falls the deepest, Where the clustering nuts fall free, That’s the way for Billy and me. Why the boys should drive away, Little sweet maidens from the play, Or love to banter and fight so well, That’s the thing I never could tell. But this I know, I love to play, Through the meadow, among the hay, Up the water and o’er the lea, That’s the way for Billy and me. —_James Hogg._ LET DOGS DELIGHT TO BARK AND BITE. Let dogs delight to bark and bite, For God hath made them so; Let bears and lions growl and fight, For ’tis their nature to. But, little children, you should never let Such angry passions rise; Your little hands were never made To tear each other’s eyes. —_Isaac Watts._ [Illustration] _Bless You, Bless You._ Bless you, bless you, burnie bee; Say, when will your wedding be? If it be to-morrow day, Take your wings and fly away. _Ding Dong Bell._ Ding dong bell, pussy’s in the well! Who put her in?—Little Johnny Green. Who pulled her out?—Big Johnny Stout. What a naughty boy was that To drown poor pussy cat, Who never did him any harm, But killed the mice in his father’s barn! _Leg Over Leg._ Leg over leg, as the dog went to Dover, When he came to a stile, hop he went over. _A Little Cock-Sparrow._