COUNSEL TO THOSE THAT EAT

With chocolate-cream that you buy in the cake
Large mouthfuls and hurry are quite a mistake.

Wise persons prolong it as long as they can
But putting in practice this excellent plan.

The cream from the chocolate lining they dig
With a Runaway match or a clean little twig.

Many hundreds,--nay, thousands--of scoopings they make
Before they've exhausted a twopenny cake.

With ices 'tis equally wrongful to haste;
You ought to go slowly and dwell on each taste.

Large mouthfuls are painful, as well as unwise,
For they lead to an ache at the back of the eyes.

And the delicate sip is e'en better, one finds,
If the ice is a mixture of different kinds.

_Unknown._

HOME AND MOTHER

Sleep, my own darling,
By, baby, by;
Mother is with thee,
By, baby, by.
There, baby. (Oh, how the wild winds wail!)
Hush, baby. (Turning to sleet and hail;
Ah, how the pine-tree moans and mutters!--
I wonder if Ellen will think of the shutters?)

Sleep, my own darling,
By, baby, by;
Mother is with thee,
By, baby, by.
Rest thee. (She couldn't have left the blower
Down in the parlor? There's so much to show her!)
By-by, my sweetest. (Now the rain's pouring!
Is it wind or the dining-room fire that's roaring?)

Sleep, my own darling,
By, baby, by;
Mother is with thee,
By, baby, by.
How lovely his forehead!--my own blessed pet!
He's nearly asleep. (Now I mustn't forget
That pork in the brine, and the stair-rods to-morrow.)
Heaven shield him forever from trouble and sorrow!

Sleep, my own darling,
By, baby, by;
Mother is with thee,
By, baby, by.
Those dear little ringlets, so silky and bright!
(I do hope the muffins will be nice and light.)
How lovely he is! (Yes, she said she could fry.)
Oh, what would I do if my baby should die!

Sleep, my own darling,
By, baby, by;
Mother is with thee,
By, baby, by.
That sweet little hand, and the soft, dimpled cheek!
Sleep, darling. (I'll have his clothes shortened this week.
How tightly he's holding my dress; I'm afraid
He'll wake when I move. There! his bed isn't made!)

Sleep, my own darling,
By, ba