To my youngest son Grenville Arthur and to all other good little boys Come read me my riddle, each good little man; if you cannot read it, no grownup folk can....

“I heard a thousand blended notes, While in a grove I sat reclined; In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts Bring sad thoughts to the mind. “To her fair works did Nature link The human soul that thr...

“And is there care in heaven? and is there love In heavenly spirits to these creatures base That may compassion of their evils move? There is:⁠—else much more wretched were the case Of men than beasts...

“He prayeth well who loveth well Both men and bird and beast; He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small: For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all.” Coleridge Tom wa...

“Sweet is the lore which Nature brings; Our meddling intellect Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things We murder to dissect. “Enough of science and of art: Close up these barren leaves; Come forth, a...

“Stern Lawgiver! yet thou dost wear The Godhead’s most benignant grace; Nor know we anything so fair As is the smile upon thy face: Flowers laugh before thee on their beds And fragrance in thy footing...

“Thou little child, yet glorious in the night Of heaven-born freedom on thy Being’s height, Why with such earnest pains dost thou provoke The Years to bring the inevitable yoke⁠— Thus blindly with thy...

“And Nature, the old Nurse, took The child upon her knee, Saying, ‘Here is a story book Thy father hath written for thee. “ ‘Come wander with me,’ she said, ‘Into regions yet untrod, And read what is ...

“Come to me, O ye children! For I hear you at your play; And the questions that perplexed me Have vanished quite away. “Ye open the Eastern windows, That look towards the sun, Where thoughts are singi...

And now, my dear little man, what should we learn from this parable? We should learn thirty-seven or thirty-nine things, I am not exactly sure which: but one thing, at least, we may learn, and that is...