TO JANE, the lily of the vale,
With native beauty bless'd,
He'd often told his artless tale,
And all his heart possess'd.

Old SNow turn'd out to crop the mead,
Now nothing else to do,

To her neat cot, with nimble speed,
Off tripp'd the anxious JoE.

Nor rose to take his leave, till night
Her sable mantle wore ;-

Till the pale moon displayed her light,
He loiter'd at the door.

Poor JOE! ere long he left his JANE,
You'll here what dire dismay,
Befel him in a darksome lane :-
An unfrequented way.

Nature was still, and balmy sleep
Had hush'd each busy care,
And save the tinkling bells of sheep,
No sound else reach'd his ear.

Soon had he pass'd with quicker tread,
The gloomy lane half through,
When, just as fancy boded dread,
A MONSTER rose to view.

Directly in his path it stood,

All clad in deadly white;

He paus'd-whilst horror chill'd his blood, Stood fix'd in dire affright.

His whole frame quak'd, his courage gone, Erect stood all his hair,

And now he thought what crimes he'd done,
And mutter'd many a pray'r.

Embolden'd by his mental judge,
His courage rose apace,

Till he resolv'd he'd onward trudge
And meet the spectre's face.

Ghosts are but airy shades 'tis said,
The truth of this I'll know,
No sooner thought, than on he sped,
And, lo! it was-Old SNow!

JOE, deep in love, (forgetful state)
Eager to reach JANE'S cot,

To shut quite close the meadow gate,
Had heedlessly forgot.

So SNOW, the cause of all his fright,
Had stroll'd him down the lane;
And like the drifting SNOW was WHITE,
From which he took his name.

Here ends my song, and JOE oft boasts
(When others seem afraid

To hear some frightful tale of ghosts)
The courage he display'd.

NOTES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

A LETTER from an Apprentice, the Sinner Reclaimed, Vanity of Earthly Greatness, the Favour of A FRIEND OF YOUTH, and Extracts by RUSTICUS, are received; also, a Prayer by W. T. the Creation, &c. by H. H. Lines by a Father on the birth of his first Child,-on the Disagreement of Parents.—and William and Margaret a ballad.

We could not with propriety insert more of the kind favour of L. than we did at the time, for a reason which we think would prove satisfactory, had we the pleasure of an interview. We will be obliged by his address.

The request of K. K. we are sorry we cannot comply with, as it might lead us into a vortex we wish by all means to avoid in our publication, that of Religious controversy. If we might presume to offer our advice on the subject, it would be that of the Apostle, Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

A little reflection must convince P. L. that originality is not ab solutely necessary in the execution of our plan. The Maxims of Poor Richard have, on account of the ir intrinsic value, been translated into several languages, and cannot be too universally known-It was not, therefore, to be expected that we should deprive many of our readers of this CABINET OF WISDOM, merely because some judicious compilers have evinced their good sense in giving it a place in their selections.

HADDINGTON:

Printed and Published, MONTHLY, by G. MILLER & SON.

"Go to the desert, my Son, observe the young stork in the wilderlet him speak to thy heart; he beareth on his wings his aged sire; he lodgeth him with safety, and supplieth him with food."

ness;

EXEMPLARY SONS;

OR THE GOOD EFFECTS OF A VIRTUOUS EDUCATION, ILLUSTRATED IN THE VICISSITUDES OF LIFE.

"We are young," said they, "healthy, and strong, and by our labour we will still support you in ease and plenty; long enough have you thus supported us. We have now an opportunity of shewing our gratitude; so sweet will be the offices, that the melancholy Occasions which called it forth shall be wholly forgotten."

SEE that mother how she presses the little infant to her bosom, while she nourishes it with the juices that flow from her breast! See that father with what cheerfulness he enters the lowly dwelling wiping the sweat from his brow, to Vol. I.

X

fulfil

fulfil the pleasing task of dividing with them the hard earned fruits of his daily toil!-THESE THINGS ARE AS THEY OUGHT TO BE, and agreeable to the dictates of nature and

religion. For how “ can a mother forget her sucking child?" or a father not provide for his own house? unless (as the apostle says) "he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”

-But see the scene reversed, and the babe grown up!— Observe the stripling at last come to man's estate, and well fitted by his personal exertions, not only to earn to himself a comfortable subsistence, but to spare a little towards the comfort and support of his aged parents, whose days of activity are past, and who are now bending beneath a load of accumulated years.- Yet see them sitting neglected and forlorn over the dying embers, a prey to the chilling attendants of poverty and want! while the darling boy, to whom they had looked up for protection and support, is throwing away at once his time and money at the table of the gambler, or spending his earnings with his dissolute companions over the intoxicating bowl.-THESE THINGS

ARE MOST ASSUREDLY NOT AS THEY, OUGHT TO BE.

Ungrateful and unfeeling mortal! are you not sensible that the authors of your being, under God, have a natural claim on you for a little of that property which you so heedlessly squander?-and what have your poor old parents done to merit such treatment? Is the tender care with which they nursed you in the days of helpless infancy to be thus repaid by neglect and indifference? Are the pains they took to rear you, and the comforts they denied themselves in order to give you an education equal to your station, or rather beyond what they could well afford, to be rewarded by contempt, and wretched poverty in all its varied forms?

Is it because they watched for your welfare, toiled for your ease, and denied themselves so many of the comforts. and conveniences of life in order that their, alas! too much indulged child might have his heart's desire, and want for nothing, that he now turns his back upon them in the day of adversity, and adds to the load of their secret griefs,. that most bitter of all, the heart-rending consideration that they are so treated by the son of their fondest hopes?

Cruel and unthinking monster! for where now thy boasted reason?—Go to the irrational creation, and learn from them, merely from the impulse of natural instinct, to act otherwise.

"From the creatures of God let man learn wisdom. and apply to himself the instruction they give.

"Be grateful to thy father, for he gave thee life; and to thy mother, for she sustained thee.

"Forget not thy helpless infancy, nor the frowardness of thy youth, and indulge the infirmities of thy aged parents; assist and support them in the decline of life.

go

"So shall their hoary heads down to the grave in peace; and thine own children, in reverence of thy example, shall repay thy piety with filial love."

"Lo! the young STORK* his duteous wing prepares

His aged Sire to feed with constant cares ;

O'er hills and dales his precious load conveys,

And the great debt of FILIAL DUTY pays:
Grateful return! by Nature's self design'd,
A fair example set to human kind.

* STORKS live to a very advanced age: the consequence of which is, that their limbs grow feeble, their feathers fall off, and they are no ways capable of providing for their own food or safety. Being birds of passage, they are under another inconvenience also, which is, that they are not able to remove them elves from one country to another

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