In the long winter evenings, how pleasant for a family to sit by a good fire, and hear the cold wind whistling without; when; neighbour enjoys the company of neighbour, and treats him with a drink of palatable cider, and some good apples; while the little children are agreeably employed in cracking and eating the nuts which they gathered in the fall. [Illustration: 013] Some amuse themselves with riding in the sleigh, while the little boys glide swiftly, in many a curious curve, upon the ice; and, when the weather is foul, the little folks can suitably exercise themselves within doors at shuttlecock.= |Behold the gray branches that ```stretch from the trees, ``Nor blossoms nor verdure they ```wear! `They rattle and shake to the ```northerly breeze, ``And wave their long arms in the ```air.= `The sun hides his face in a mantle ```of cloud, ```Dark vapours roll over the sky, ``The wind through the wood hol- ```lows hoarsely and loud. ``And sea birds across the land ```fly.= `Come in, little Charles, for the ```snow patters down, ``No path in the garden remains: `The streets and the houses are ```white in the town, ``And white are the field and the ```plain.= `Come in, little Charles, from the ```tempest of snow; ``'Tis dark, and the shutters we'll ```close; `We'll put a fresh fagot to make ```the fire glow, ``Secure from the storm as it ```blows; `But how many wretches, without ```house or home, ``Are wandering naked and pale; `Oblig'd on the snow-covered ```common to roam, ``And pierc'd by the pitiless gale! `No house for their shelter, no vict- ```uals to eat, No beds for their limbs to re- pose: [Illustration: 017] `Or a crust dry and mouldy, the ```best of their meat, ``And their pillow, a pillow of snows.= `Be thankful, my child, that it is ```not thy lot, ``To wander an orphan and poor, `A father and mother, and home ```thou hast got, ``And yet thou deservest them ```no more. `Be thankful, my child, and forget ```not to pay ``Thy thanks to the Father above, `Who gives thee so many more ```blessings than they. ``And crowns thy whole life with ```his love. = [Illustration: 018] End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Winter, by Anonymous