A lovely and delightful thing, Is a beautiful city park, Which does pleasure to thousands bring, And a beautiful landscape mark. But most charming of things men see, Gardens of beautiful flowers, Can fill his heart with ecstacy And beautiful thoughts for hours. A landscape of hill and of dale, And beautiful river of blue, With steamers and ships under sail, Is indeed a beautiful view. There are pretty and tasteful homes, And beautiful capitols grand, Embellished with towers and domes, And built on beautiful land. There’s sculpture in marble and stone, Beautiful in work and design, And monuments standing alone, Of beautiful progress a sign. There are elegant works of art, And beautiful paintings by man, And hundreds of things in the mart, Beautiful in color and plan. Even pretty insects there are, And thousands of beautiful birds With plumage that glistens afar, And beautiful cattle in herds. Wild beasts that roam over the plain Are often beautiful to see; But cannot be used for man’s gain As the beautiful horse can be. There are men of honor and worth, And women beautiful and mild; But the handsomest thing on earth Is a beautiful little child. THE NURSE. Among all the duties of life, A most difficult place to fill, Is that of the invalid nurse, To the suffering thousands ill. The sacrifice is very great, That nurses are required to make, And there is no reason to doubt, ’Tis made for humanity’s sake. A desire to comfort the sick, Must ever be the ruling thought, For without a merciful heart, The work can never well be wrought. Sweet pleasures are at her command, In which she seldom can take part; She has consecrated herself, To the grand work that fills her heart. Only the noblest human souls Engage in woman’s highest work, The selfish and hard-hearted ones, Can always find excuse to shirk. The sick are hard to satisfy, And the nurse exerts her trained skill, Sometimes to give, sometimes deny, And mildly sway the fickle will. By sweet smiles and true devotion, She makes the invalid her friend, Who appreciates the kindness, With which she does his wants attend. When wild becomes the fevered brain, The patient thinks the nurse his foe. Imagines he is in a fight, And strikes his friend a fearful blow. With wondrous strength she holds him down, “Let go (he cries) I’ll break your head,” And when his frenzy has expired, Sinks back exhausted, almost dead. Now the nurse’s fine work begins, The right remedies are applied, She calls the doctor, orders help, And does not leave the patient’s side.