Domestic happiness, thou only bliss
Of paradise that has survived the fall!
_The Task, Bk. III_. W. COWPER.
The first sure symptom of a mind in health
Is rest of heart, and pleasure felt at home.
_Night Thoughts, Night VIII_. DR. E. YOUNG.
To make a happy fireside clime
To weans and wife,
That's the true pathos and sublime
Of human life.
_Epistle to Dr. Blacklock_. R. BURNS.
For the whole world, without a native home,
Is nothing but a prison of larger room.
_To the Bishop of Lincoln_. A. COWLEY.
His native home deep imaged in his soul.
_Odyssey, Bk. XIII_. HOMER. _Trans. of_ POPE.
Stay, stay at home, my heart, and rest;
Home-keeping hearts are happiest,
For those that wander they know not where
Are full of trouble and full of care;
To stay at home is best.
_Song_. H.W. LONGFELLOW.
His home, the spot of earth supremely blest,
A dearer, sweeter spot than all the rest.
_West Indies, Pt. III_. J. MONTGOMERY.
At Christmas play, and make good cheer,
For Christmas comes but once a year.
_The Farmer's Daily Diet_. T. TUSSER.
He kept no Christmas-house for once a year:
Each day his boards were filled with lordly fare.
_A Maiden's Dream_. R. GREENE.
Alike all ages: dames of ancient days
Have led their children through the mirthful maze;
And the gay grandsire, skilled in gestic lore,
Has frisked beneath the burden of threescore.
_The Traveller_. O. GOLDSMITH.
Now stir the fire, and close the shutters fast,
Let fall the curtains, wheel the sofa round,
And while the bubbling and loud hissing urn
Throws up a steamy column, and the cups,
That cheer but not inebriate, wait on each,
So let us welcome peaceful evening in.
_The Task: Winter Evening, Bk, IV_. W. COWPER.