How often the poor are despised and neglected, For no other reason except they are poor; How often the rich are beloved and respected, Because they have uncounted wealth at their door. There’s many an honest and virtuous heart, To-day within poverty’s prison enchained; While thousands reside amid pleasures of art, Whose wealth was thro’ vice and dishonesty gained. Despise not the needy because they are poor, Nor envy the wealthy because of their gold; Good or ill fortune may stand at our door, But true hearts are not to be purchased or sold. _CHILDHOOD._ We long for those days, once so joyous, For that unbounded freedom, again, When there were no cares to annoy us, And life knew no sorrow nor pain; But those sweet days of childhood have vanished, And we long for them only in vain. Tho’ time has wrought changes unnumbered Since those happy seasons were pass’d, And now with life’s cares we’re encumbered, Still backward fond visions we’ll cast; And we’ll think of our childhood with pleasure As long as our memories last. _THE LASSIE O’ER THE WAY._ A sweet little lassie Lives over the way: She’s pretty and modest, Yet blithesome and gay. So perfect her manners, So graceful her mien; O who would not worship This fair little queen! Is there a young laddie Whose heart would not beat For those smiles so angelic And dimples so sweet: Those blue eyes a-sparkling, That bright golden hair! O where’s the young lassie More charming and fair! She’s modest and gentle, Yet cheerful and gay; This sweet little lassie, Just over the way. Transcriber’s Note Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained. All of the illustrations are the same simple decoration. “Telulah Spring”, listed as the Frontispiece in the Contents, was missing from the original book. “Note” at beginning of “Miscellaneous Verses”: “seperate” was printed that way. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Poems, by Henry Reed Conant