I.

"If thou be surety for thy friend, thou art snared with the words of
thy mouth,"--PROVERBS vi. v. 1, 2.

Think well, my son, before you lend
Your name as bond for any friend;
Or, when the day of reckoning comes,
Come broken hearts and blighted homes.
Think well, my son, before you give
Your trusty word, that knaves may live:
Be not for such the stepping-stone,
But strive to earn and keep thine own.


II.

"A wise son maketh a glad father; but a foolish son is the heaviness
of his mother."--PROVERBS x, v. 1.

Be wise, my son, as o'er the earth
Thou walk'st in search of wealth or fame;
Return her love who gave thee birth--
His, who thy youthful guide became.
That mother's heart must cease to beat;
That father's voice must cease to guide;
Oh! then what recollections sweet
Will cheer thy life's dark eventide.


III.

"Hope deferred maketh the heart sick; The desire accomplished is
sweet to the soul.--PROVERBS xiii, v. 12, 19.

I am watching--I am waiting;
And my heart droops sad and low.
No glad message brings me comfort
As the moments come and go.
While the flowers bask in sunshine;
While birds sing on every tree;
I am weary--weary, waiting--
For a message, love, from thee.


IV.

"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband."--PROVERBS xii, v. 4.

As is the lustre to the lily;
As is the fragrance to the rose;
As is the perfume to the violet
In sweet humility that grows.
As is the glad warmth of the sunshine
Whene'er the earth is dark and cold;
So, to the loving heart that wears it,
Is Virtue's purest crown of gold.


V.

"Even in laughter the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth
is heaviness."--PROVERBS xiv, v. 13.

What though kind friends that gather round me
Seek to make my heart rejoice?
I miss the face I love so dearly--
Miss the music of thy voice;
And though I smile, as if in gladness,
Tis but the phantom of a smile;
My heart, in sorrowing and sadness,
Mourns thy absence all the while.