APRIL.

"My name is April, sir; and I
Often laugh, as often cry;

And I cannot tell what makes me:
Only as the fit o'ertakes me

I must dimple, smile, and frown,
Laughing, though the tears roll down.
But 'tis nature, sir, not art;
And I'm happy at my heart."

Mrs. Z. B. Gustafson.

April cold with dropping rain
Willows and lilacs brings again,
The whistle of returning birds
And trumpet-lowing of the herds.

R. W. Emerson.

I walk, with noiseless feet, the round
Of uneventful years;

Still o'er and o'er I sow the spring,

And reap the autumn ears.

J. G. Whittier.

The clover blossoms in the grass

Rise up to kiss thy feet.

April 2.

H. W. Longfellow.

Her mouth is a honey-blossom,
No doubt, as the poet sings;
But within her lips, the petals,
Lurks a cruel bee that stings.

She never felt the poverty

W. D. Howells.

Of souls less favored than her own.

April 3.

Phabe Cary.

He met the men of many a land;
They gave their souls into his hand;

And none of them was long unknown;
The hardest lesson was his own.

Bayard Taylor.

We love in others what we lack ourselves,
And would be every thing but what we are.
R. H. Stoddard.

April 2.

April 3.

The honest choice of good or ill,
A heart of marble, prayer, and fire,
The strength to do, the power to will
From earth's reluctance, Heaven's desire,
And God's step upon the land

(Grave and grand),

Glad I stand,

And lift my eyes to see

The life He sends to me.

April 5.

E. S. Phelps.

My dear young friend, whose shining wit

Sets all the room ablaze,
Don't think yourself "a happy dog "

For all your merry ways;
But learn to wear a sober phiz,

Be stupid, if you can,

It's such a very serious thing

To be a funny man!

April 6.

J. G. Saxe.

Thought must shade and sun the soul

With its glorious mutations;

Every life song is a whole,

Sweeter for its variations.

Wherefore with your bliss at strife?
'Twas an angel that withstood you.
Could you change your perfect life
For a dream of living, would you?
Lucy Larcom.

April 5.

April 6.