Chapter 3

MAY SEVENTHMake your children happy in their youth; letdistinction come to them, if it will, after well-spentyears but let them now break and eat the bread ofHeaven with gladness and singleness of heart andsend portions to them for whom nothing is prepared;and so Heaven send you its grace before meatand after it.RuskinMAY EIGHTHThe babe by its motherLies bathed in joy,Glide its hours uncounted,The sun is its toy;Shines the peace of all its being,Without cloud, in its eyes,And the sun of the worldIn soft miniature lies.EmersonMAY NINTHIn those days life was a simple matter to thechildren; their days and their legs lengthened together.Anne Thackeray RitchieMAY TENTHTimely blossom, infant fair,Fondling of a happy pair,Every morn and every nightTheir solicitous delight,Sleeping, waking, still at ease,Pleasing without skill to please.Ambrose PhillipsMAY ELEVENTHThen the face of a mother looks back, through the mistOf the tears that are welling; and, lucent with light,I see the dear smile of the lips I have kissedAs she knelt by my cradle at morning and night;And my arms are outheld with a yearning too wildFor any but God in His love to inspire,As she pleads at the foot of His throne for her child—As I sit in the silence and gaze in the fire.James Whitcomb RileyFrom "Rhymes of Childhood." Copyright, 1890-1898. Used by special permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merritt Company.MAY TWELFTHA child's kiss set on thy sighing lips shall makethee glad.Mrs. BrowningMAY THIRTEENTHI can not say, and I will not sayThat he is dead.—He is just away!With a cheery smile and a wave of the hand,He has wandered into an unknown land,And left us dreaming how very fairIt must be since he lingers there.James Whitcomb RileyFrom "Afterwhiles." Copyright, 1903. Used by permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.MAY FOURTEENTH"Rock-a-bye, baby, up in the tree top!"Mother his blanket is spinning;And a light little rustle that never will stopBreezes and boughs are beginning,Rock-a-bye, baby, swinging so high!Rock-a-bye.Lucy LarcomMAY FIFTEENTHGod's hand had taken away the sealThat held the portals of her speech;And oft she said a few strange wordsWhose meaning lay beyond our reachThomas Bailey AldrichMAY SIXTEENTHHappy the child who is suffered to be and contentto be what God meant it to be; a child whilechildhood lasts.RobertsonMAY SEVENTEENTHWhen first thy infant littlenessI folded in my fond caress,The greatest proof of happinessWas this I wept.HoodMAY EIGHTEENTHHis mother's conscious heart o'erflows with joy.Homer's IliadMAY NINETEENTHFor the pure clean wit of a sweet young babe islike the newest wax, most able to receive the bestand fairest printing.Roger AschamMAY TWENTIETHAt eve the babes with angels converse hold.Victor HugoMAY TWENTY-FIRSTIlka body smiled that met her,Nane were glad that said farewell;Never was a blither, better,Bonnier bairn frae croon to heel!MacLeodMAY TWENTY-SECONDHis father's counterfeit,And his face the index beOf his mother's chastity.CatullusMAY TWENTY-THIRDAnd, rosy from the noonday sleep,Would bear thee to admiring kin,And all thy pretty looks would keepMy heart within.Jean IngelowMAY TWENTY-FOURTHI long to feel thy little arms embrace,Thy silver-sounding voice to hear,I long for thy warm kisses on my face,And for thy birdlike carol, blythe and clear.Carmen SylvaMAY TWENTY-FIFTHAll holy influences dwell withinThe breast of childhood; instincts fresh from GodInspire it, ere the heart beneath the rodOf grief hath bled, or caught the plague of sin.Sir Aubrey de VereMAY TWENTY-SIXTHThe mother represents goodness, providence, law,that is to say, the divinity, under that form of itwhich is accessible to childhood.AmielMAY TWENTY-SEVENTHEarth's creeds may be seventy times sevenAnd blood have defiled each creed;If, of such is the Kingdom of Heaven,It must be Heaven indeed.SwinburneMAY TWENTY-EIGHTHNo song quite worth a young child's earsBroke ever even from birds in May.SwinburneMAY TWENTY-NINTHAnd remain through all bewildering,Innocent and honest children.Robert Louis StevensonMAY THIRTIETHBefore life's sweetest mystery stillThe heart in reverence kneels;The wonder of the primal birthThe latest mother feels.WhittierMAY THIRTY-FIRSTO, The days gone by! O, the days gone by!The music of the laughing lip, the luster of the eye;The childish faith in fairies, and Aladdin's magic ring—The simple, soul-reposing, glad belief in every thing.—When life was like a story, holding neither sob nor sigh,In the golden, olden glory of the days gone by.James Whitcomb Riley"Rhymes of Childhood." Copyright, 1890-1898. Used by permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.JUNEJUNE FIRSTWould ye learn the way to Laughtertown,Oh, ye who have lost the way?Would ye have young hearts, though your hair be gray?Go learn from a little child each day;Go serve his wants and play his play,And catch the lilt of his laughter gay,And follow his dancing feet as they stray,For he knows the road to LaughtertownOh, ye who have lost the way!Katherine D. BlakeJUNE SECONDWhat school of learning or of moral endeavordepends on its teacher more than the home upon themother.Donald G. MitchellJUNE THIRDWhat price could pay with earth's whole weight of gold,One least flushed roseleaf's foldOf all this dimpling store of smiles that shineFrom each warm curve and line?SwinburneJUNE FOURTHSometimes when I bin badAn' Pa "correcks" me, nenAn' Uncle Sidney he comes hereI'm allus good again;Cause Uncle Sidney says,An' takes me up an' smiles,The goodest mens they is ain't goodAs baddest little childs.James Whitcomb Riley"Rhymes of Childhood." Copyright, 1890-1898. Used by special permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.JUNE FIFTHSince then God has willed that children should beto us in the place of preceptors, we judge that weowe to them the most diligent attention.ComeniusJUNE SIXTHHe was so sweet, that oft his mother said,O, child, how was it that I dwelt contentBefore thou camest?Jean IngelowJUNE SEVENTHThrice happy state again to beThe trusting infant on the knee!Who lets his rosy fingers playAbout his Mother's neck, and knowsNothing beyond his Mother's eyes;They comfort him by night and day,They light his little life alway.TennysonJUNE EIGHTHI see in every child the possibility of a perfect man.FroebelJUNE NINTHWhere indeed can the modest and earnest virtueof a woman tell a stronger story of its worth thanupon the dawning habit of a child?Donald G. MitchellJUNE TENTHThe expectant wee-things, toddlin' stacher throughTo meet their Dad, wi' flichterin' noise an' glee,His wee-bit Ingle blinkin' bonnily,His clean hearth-stone, his thrifty wifie's smile,The lispin' infant prattling on his knee,Does a' his weary carking cares beguile,An' makes him quite forget his labor and his toil.Robert BurnsJUNE ELEVENTHTo feel sudden, at a wink,Some dear child we used to scold,Praise, love both ways, kiss and tease,Teach and tumble as our own,All its curls about our knees,Rise up suddenly full-grown.Mrs. BrowningJUNE TWELFTHI thought a child was given to sanctify a woman.Mrs. BrowningJUNE THIRTEENTHUnder the roof-tree of his home the boy feels safe;and where, in the whole realm of life, with its bittertoils and bitter temptations, will he feel safe again?Donald G. MitchellJUNE FOURTEENTHThe heart which plays in life its part,With love elate, with loss forlorn,Is still, through all, the child's pure heartMy Mother gave when I was born.Sully-PrudhommeJUNE FIFTEENTHThe hyacinthine boy, for whomMorn well might break and April bloom.EmersonJUNE SIXTEENTHAnd the mother spoils all her scolding with aperfect shower of kisses.Donald G. MitchellJUNE SEVENTEENTHBut not a child to kiss his lips,Well-a-day!And that's a difference sad to seeBetwixt my lord the king and me.Charles MackayJUNE EIGHTEENTHThere falls not from the height of day,When sunlight speaks and silence hears,So sweet a psalm as children playAnd sing each hour of all their years,Each moment of their lovely way,And know not how it thrills our ears.SwinburneJUNE NINETEENTHBut all of the things that belong to the dayCuddle to sleep to be out of her way;And flowers and children close their eyesTill up in the morning the sun shall arise.Robert Louis StevensonJUNE TWENTIETHO prayer of childhood! Simple, innocent;O infant slumbers! Peaceful, pure and light;O happy worship! Ever gay with smiles,Meet prelude to the harmonies of night;As birds beneath the wing enfold their head,Nestled in prayer, the infant seeks its bed.Victor HugoJUNE TWENTY-FIRSTIn the little childish heart belowAll the sweetness seemed to grow and grow,And shine out in happy overflowFrom her blue, bright eyes.WestwoodJUNE TWENTY-SECONDAnd when she saw her tender little babe,She felt how much the happy days of lifeOutweigh the sorrowful.Jean IngelowJUNE TWENTY-THIRDBetween tears and smiles, the year, like the child,struggles into warmth and life.Donald G. MitchellJUNE TWENTY-FOURTHThe months that touch, with added grace,This little prattler at my knee,In whose arch eye and speaking faceNew meaning every hour I see.BryantReprinted from Bryant's Complete Poetical Works by permission of D. Appleton & Co.JUNE TWENTY-FIFTHCome to me, O ye children!And whisper in my earWhat the birds and the winds are singingIn your sunny atmosphere.LongfellowJUNE TWENTY-SIXTHThe adorable, sweet, living, marvellous,Strange light that lightens usWho gaze, desertless of such grace,Full in a babe's warm face.SwinburneJUNE TWENTY-SEVENTHDo not think the youth has no force because hecan not speak to you and me.EmersonJUNE TWENTY-EIGHTHBirds in the night, that softly call,Winds in the night, that strangely sigh,Come to me, help me, one and all,And murmur baby's lullaby.Lionel H. LewinJUNE TWENTY-NINTH'Tis grand to be six years old, dear,With pence in a money box,To ride on a wooden horse, dear,And leave off baby socks.F. E. WeatherlyJUNE THIRTIETHInfancy conforms to nobody; all conform to it,so that one babe commonly makes four or five outof the adults who prattle and play to it.EmersonJULYJULY FIRSTA little child, a limber elf,Singing, dancing to itself,A fairy thing with rosy cheeks,That always finds and never seeks,Makes such a vision to my sightAs fills a father's eye with light.S. T. ColeridgeJULY SECONDBright-featured as the July sunHer little face still played in,And splendors, with her birth begun,Had had no time for fading.Mrs. BrowningJULY THIRDThe evening star doth o'er thee peep,To watch thy slumber bright;My little child, now go to sleepSafe in God's loving sight.George CooperJULY FOURTHGod promises the children heavenly play,And blooms in meadows queenly.IngemannJULY FIFTHBut still I feel that His embraceSlides down by thrills through all things made,Through sight and sound of every place;As if my tender mother laid,On my shut lids her kisses pressure:Half waking me at night; and said:"Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser?"Mrs. BrowningJULY SIXTHEven happier than the young wife who feels forthe first time consciousness of her motherhood.ChateaubriandJULY SEVENTHAnd the least of us all that love himMay take, for a moment, partWith Angels around and above him,And I find place in his heart.SwinburneJULY EIGHTHThe streamlet murmurs on its way;Dew falls at set of sun;The birds grow still at hush of day,So sleep, my little one.George CooperJULY NINTHThe child was happy;Like a spirit of the air she moved,Wayward, yet, by all who knew her,For her tender heart beloved.WordsworthJULY TENTHMy mother's voice, so forgotten yet so familiar,so unutterably dear!George Du MaurierJULY ELEVENTHBut were another childhood-world my share,I would be born a little sister there.George EliotJULY TWELFTHWith what a look of proud commandThou shakest, in thy little hand,The coral rattle, with its silver bells,Making a merry tune.LongfellowJULY THIRTEENTHLet childhood's radiant mist the free child yetenfold.HemansJULY FOURTEENTHBe it, therefore, O mother, your sacred duty tomake your darling early feel the working of boththe outer and the inner light.FroebelJULY FIFTEENTHWe do not knowHow he may soften at the sight of the child:The silence often of pure innocencePersuades when speaking fails.ShakespeareJULY SIXTEENTHYet nothing is so radiant and so fairAs ——To see the light of babes about the house.EuripidesJULY SEVENTEENTHThrough the gladness of little childrenAre the frostiest lives kept warm.Lucy LarcomJULY EIGHTEENTHAs on the father's care-worn cheekThe ringlets of his child;The golden mingling with the gray,And stealing half its snows away.HolmesJULY NINETEENTHThere's one angel belongs to you on earth andthat's your mother.Auerbach

MAY SEVENTH

Make your children happy in their youth; letdistinction come to them, if it will, after well-spentyears but let them now break and eat the bread ofHeaven with gladness and singleness of heart andsend portions to them for whom nothing is prepared;and so Heaven send you its grace before meatand after it.Ruskin

Make your children happy in their youth; let

distinction come to them, if it will, after well-spent

years but let them now break and eat the bread of

Heaven with gladness and singleness of heart and

send portions to them for whom nothing is prepared;

and so Heaven send you its grace before meat

and after it.

Ruskin

MAY EIGHTH

The babe by its motherLies bathed in joy,Glide its hours uncounted,The sun is its toy;Shines the peace of all its being,Without cloud, in its eyes,And the sun of the worldIn soft miniature lies.Emerson

The babe by its mother

Lies bathed in joy,

Glide its hours uncounted,

The sun is its toy;

Shines the peace of all its being,

Without cloud, in its eyes,

And the sun of the world

In soft miniature lies.

Emerson

MAY NINTH

In those days life was a simple matter to thechildren; their days and their legs lengthened together.Anne Thackeray Ritchie

In those days life was a simple matter to the

children; their days and their legs lengthened together.

Anne Thackeray Ritchie

MAY TENTH

Timely blossom, infant fair,Fondling of a happy pair,Every morn and every nightTheir solicitous delight,Sleeping, waking, still at ease,Pleasing without skill to please.Ambrose Phillips

Timely blossom, infant fair,

Fondling of a happy pair,

Every morn and every night

Their solicitous delight,

Sleeping, waking, still at ease,

Pleasing without skill to please.

Ambrose Phillips

MAY ELEVENTH

Then the face of a mother looks back, through the mistOf the tears that are welling; and, lucent with light,I see the dear smile of the lips I have kissedAs she knelt by my cradle at morning and night;And my arms are outheld with a yearning too wildFor any but God in His love to inspire,As she pleads at the foot of His throne for her child—As I sit in the silence and gaze in the fire.James Whitcomb Riley

Then the face of a mother looks back, through the mist

Of the tears that are welling; and, lucent with light,

I see the dear smile of the lips I have kissed

As she knelt by my cradle at morning and night;

And my arms are outheld with a yearning too wild

For any but God in His love to inspire,

As she pleads at the foot of His throne for her child—

As I sit in the silence and gaze in the fire.

James Whitcomb Riley

From "Rhymes of Childhood." Copyright, 1890-1898. Used by special permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merritt Company.

MAY TWELFTH

A child's kiss set on thy sighing lips shall makethee glad.Mrs. Browning

A child's kiss set on thy sighing lips shall make

thee glad.

Mrs. Browning

MAY THIRTEENTH

I can not say, and I will not sayThat he is dead.—He is just away!With a cheery smile and a wave of the hand,He has wandered into an unknown land,And left us dreaming how very fairIt must be since he lingers there.James Whitcomb Riley

I can not say, and I will not say

That he is dead.—He is just away!

With a cheery smile and a wave of the hand,

He has wandered into an unknown land,

And left us dreaming how very fair

It must be since he lingers there.

James Whitcomb Riley

From "Afterwhiles." Copyright, 1903. Used by permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.

MAY FOURTEENTH

"Rock-a-bye, baby, up in the tree top!"Mother his blanket is spinning;And a light little rustle that never will stopBreezes and boughs are beginning,Rock-a-bye, baby, swinging so high!Rock-a-bye.Lucy Larcom

"Rock-a-bye, baby, up in the tree top!"

Mother his blanket is spinning;

And a light little rustle that never will stop

Breezes and boughs are beginning,

Rock-a-bye, baby, swinging so high!

Rock-a-bye.Lucy Larcom

Rock-a-bye.

Lucy Larcom

MAY FIFTEENTH

God's hand had taken away the sealThat held the portals of her speech;And oft she said a few strange wordsWhose meaning lay beyond our reachThomas Bailey Aldrich

God's hand had taken away the seal

That held the portals of her speech;

And oft she said a few strange words

Whose meaning lay beyond our reach

Thomas Bailey Aldrich

MAY SIXTEENTH

Happy the child who is suffered to be and contentto be what God meant it to be; a child whilechildhood lasts.Robertson

Happy the child who is suffered to be and content

to be what God meant it to be; a child while

childhood lasts.

Robertson

MAY SEVENTEENTH

When first thy infant littlenessI folded in my fond caress,The greatest proof of happinessWas this I wept.Hood

When first thy infant littleness

I folded in my fond caress,

The greatest proof of happiness

Was this I wept.

Hood

MAY EIGHTEENTH

His mother's conscious heart o'erflows with joy.Homer's Iliad

His mother's conscious heart o'erflows with joy.

Homer's Iliad

MAY NINETEENTH

For the pure clean wit of a sweet young babe islike the newest wax, most able to receive the bestand fairest printing.Roger Ascham

For the pure clean wit of a sweet young babe is

like the newest wax, most able to receive the best

and fairest printing.

Roger Ascham

MAY TWENTIETH

At eve the babes with angels converse hold.Victor Hugo

At eve the babes with angels converse hold.

Victor Hugo

MAY TWENTY-FIRST

Ilka body smiled that met her,Nane were glad that said farewell;Never was a blither, better,Bonnier bairn frae croon to heel!MacLeod

Ilka body smiled that met her,

Nane were glad that said farewell;

Never was a blither, better,

Bonnier bairn frae croon to heel!

MacLeod

MAY TWENTY-SECOND

His father's counterfeit,And his face the index beOf his mother's chastity.Catullus

His father's counterfeit,

And his face the index be

Of his mother's chastity.

Catullus

MAY TWENTY-THIRD

And, rosy from the noonday sleep,Would bear thee to admiring kin,And all thy pretty looks would keepMy heart within.Jean Ingelow

And, rosy from the noonday sleep,

Would bear thee to admiring kin,

And all thy pretty looks would keep

My heart within.Jean Ingelow

My heart within.

Jean Ingelow

MAY TWENTY-FOURTH

I long to feel thy little arms embrace,Thy silver-sounding voice to hear,I long for thy warm kisses on my face,And for thy birdlike carol, blythe and clear.Carmen Sylva

I long to feel thy little arms embrace,

Thy silver-sounding voice to hear,

I long for thy warm kisses on my face,

And for thy birdlike carol, blythe and clear.

Carmen Sylva

MAY TWENTY-FIFTH

All holy influences dwell withinThe breast of childhood; instincts fresh from GodInspire it, ere the heart beneath the rodOf grief hath bled, or caught the plague of sin.Sir Aubrey de Vere

All holy influences dwell within

The breast of childhood; instincts fresh from God

Inspire it, ere the heart beneath the rod

Of grief hath bled, or caught the plague of sin.

Sir Aubrey de Vere

MAY TWENTY-SIXTH

The mother represents goodness, providence, law,that is to say, the divinity, under that form of itwhich is accessible to childhood.Amiel

The mother represents goodness, providence, law,

that is to say, the divinity, under that form of it

which is accessible to childhood.

Amiel

MAY TWENTY-SEVENTH

Earth's creeds may be seventy times sevenAnd blood have defiled each creed;If, of such is the Kingdom of Heaven,It must be Heaven indeed.Swinburne

Earth's creeds may be seventy times seven

And blood have defiled each creed;

If, of such is the Kingdom of Heaven,

It must be Heaven indeed.

Swinburne

MAY TWENTY-EIGHTH

No song quite worth a young child's earsBroke ever even from birds in May.Swinburne

No song quite worth a young child's ears

Broke ever even from birds in May.

Swinburne

MAY TWENTY-NINTH

And remain through all bewildering,Innocent and honest children.Robert Louis Stevenson

And remain through all bewildering,

Innocent and honest children.

Robert Louis Stevenson

MAY THIRTIETH

Before life's sweetest mystery stillThe heart in reverence kneels;The wonder of the primal birthThe latest mother feels.Whittier

Before life's sweetest mystery still

The heart in reverence kneels;

The wonder of the primal birth

The latest mother feels.

Whittier

MAY THIRTY-FIRST

O, The days gone by! O, the days gone by!The music of the laughing lip, the luster of the eye;The childish faith in fairies, and Aladdin's magic ring—The simple, soul-reposing, glad belief in every thing.—When life was like a story, holding neither sob nor sigh,In the golden, olden glory of the days gone by.James Whitcomb Riley

O, The days gone by! O, the days gone by!

The music of the laughing lip, the luster of the eye;

The childish faith in fairies, and Aladdin's magic ring—

The simple, soul-reposing, glad belief in every thing.—

When life was like a story, holding neither sob nor sigh,

In the golden, olden glory of the days gone by.James Whitcomb Riley

In the golden, olden glory of the days gone by.

James Whitcomb Riley

"Rhymes of Childhood." Copyright, 1890-1898. Used by permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.

JUNE

JUNE FIRST

Would ye learn the way to Laughtertown,Oh, ye who have lost the way?Would ye have young hearts, though your hair be gray?Go learn from a little child each day;Go serve his wants and play his play,And catch the lilt of his laughter gay,And follow his dancing feet as they stray,For he knows the road to LaughtertownOh, ye who have lost the way!Katherine D. Blake

Would ye learn the way to Laughtertown,

Oh, ye who have lost the way?

Would ye have young hearts, though your hair be gray?

Go learn from a little child each day;

Go serve his wants and play his play,

And catch the lilt of his laughter gay,

And follow his dancing feet as they stray,

For he knows the road to Laughtertown

Oh, ye who have lost the way!

Katherine D. Blake

JUNE SECOND

What school of learning or of moral endeavordepends on its teacher more than the home upon themother.Donald G. Mitchell

What school of learning or of moral endeavor

depends on its teacher more than the home upon the

mother.

Donald G. Mitchell

JUNE THIRD

What price could pay with earth's whole weight of gold,One least flushed roseleaf's foldOf all this dimpling store of smiles that shineFrom each warm curve and line?Swinburne

What price could pay with earth's whole weight of gold,

One least flushed roseleaf's fold

Of all this dimpling store of smiles that shine

From each warm curve and line?

Swinburne

JUNE FOURTH

Sometimes when I bin badAn' Pa "correcks" me, nenAn' Uncle Sidney he comes hereI'm allus good again;Cause Uncle Sidney says,An' takes me up an' smiles,The goodest mens they is ain't goodAs baddest little childs.James Whitcomb Riley

Sometimes when I bin bad

An' Pa "correcks" me, nen

An' Uncle Sidney he comes here

I'm allus good again;

Cause Uncle Sidney says,

An' takes me up an' smiles,

The goodest mens they is ain't good

As baddest little childs.

James Whitcomb Riley

"Rhymes of Childhood." Copyright, 1890-1898. Used by special permission of the publishers, The Bobbs-Merrill Company.

JUNE FIFTH

Since then God has willed that children should beto us in the place of preceptors, we judge that weowe to them the most diligent attention.Comenius

Since then God has willed that children should be

to us in the place of preceptors, we judge that we

owe to them the most diligent attention.

Comenius

JUNE SIXTH

He was so sweet, that oft his mother said,O, child, how was it that I dwelt contentBefore thou camest?Jean Ingelow

He was so sweet, that oft his mother said,

O, child, how was it that I dwelt content

Before thou camest?

Jean Ingelow

JUNE SEVENTH

Thrice happy state again to beThe trusting infant on the knee!Who lets his rosy fingers playAbout his Mother's neck, and knowsNothing beyond his Mother's eyes;They comfort him by night and day,They light his little life alway.Tennyson

Thrice happy state again to be

The trusting infant on the knee!

Who lets his rosy fingers play

About his Mother's neck, and knows

Nothing beyond his Mother's eyes;

They comfort him by night and day,

They light his little life alway.

Tennyson

JUNE EIGHTH

I see in every child the possibility of a perfect man.Froebel

I see in every child the possibility of a perfect man.

Froebel

JUNE NINTH

Where indeed can the modest and earnest virtueof a woman tell a stronger story of its worth thanupon the dawning habit of a child?Donald G. Mitchell

Where indeed can the modest and earnest virtue

of a woman tell a stronger story of its worth than

upon the dawning habit of a child?

Donald G. Mitchell

JUNE TENTH

The expectant wee-things, toddlin' stacher throughTo meet their Dad, wi' flichterin' noise an' glee,His wee-bit Ingle blinkin' bonnily,His clean hearth-stone, his thrifty wifie's smile,The lispin' infant prattling on his knee,Does a' his weary carking cares beguile,An' makes him quite forget his labor and his toil.Robert Burns

The expectant wee-things, toddlin' stacher through

To meet their Dad, wi' flichterin' noise an' glee,

His wee-bit Ingle blinkin' bonnily,

His clean hearth-stone, his thrifty wifie's smile,

The lispin' infant prattling on his knee,

Does a' his weary carking cares beguile,

An' makes him quite forget his labor and his toil.

Robert Burns

JUNE ELEVENTH

To feel sudden, at a wink,Some dear child we used to scold,Praise, love both ways, kiss and tease,Teach and tumble as our own,All its curls about our knees,Rise up suddenly full-grown.Mrs. Browning

To feel sudden, at a wink,

Some dear child we used to scold,

Praise, love both ways, kiss and tease,

Teach and tumble as our own,

All its curls about our knees,

Rise up suddenly full-grown.

Mrs. Browning

JUNE TWELFTH

I thought a child was given to sanctify a woman.Mrs. Browning

I thought a child was given to sanctify a woman.

Mrs. Browning

JUNE THIRTEENTH

Under the roof-tree of his home the boy feels safe;and where, in the whole realm of life, with its bittertoils and bitter temptations, will he feel safe again?Donald G. Mitchell

Under the roof-tree of his home the boy feels safe;

and where, in the whole realm of life, with its bitter

toils and bitter temptations, will he feel safe again?

Donald G. Mitchell

JUNE FOURTEENTH

The heart which plays in life its part,With love elate, with loss forlorn,Is still, through all, the child's pure heartMy Mother gave when I was born.Sully-Prudhomme

The heart which plays in life its part,

With love elate, with loss forlorn,

Is still, through all, the child's pure heart

My Mother gave when I was born.

Sully-Prudhomme

JUNE FIFTEENTH

The hyacinthine boy, for whomMorn well might break and April bloom.Emerson

The hyacinthine boy, for whom

Morn well might break and April bloom.

Emerson

JUNE SIXTEENTH

And the mother spoils all her scolding with aperfect shower of kisses.Donald G. Mitchell

And the mother spoils all her scolding with a

perfect shower of kisses.

Donald G. Mitchell

JUNE SEVENTEENTH

But not a child to kiss his lips,Well-a-day!And that's a difference sad to seeBetwixt my lord the king and me.Charles Mackay

But not a child to kiss his lips,

Well-a-day!

And that's a difference sad to see

Betwixt my lord the king and me.

Charles Mackay

JUNE EIGHTEENTH

There falls not from the height of day,When sunlight speaks and silence hears,So sweet a psalm as children playAnd sing each hour of all their years,Each moment of their lovely way,And know not how it thrills our ears.Swinburne

There falls not from the height of day,

When sunlight speaks and silence hears,

So sweet a psalm as children play

And sing each hour of all their years,

Each moment of their lovely way,

And know not how it thrills our ears.

Swinburne

JUNE NINETEENTH

But all of the things that belong to the dayCuddle to sleep to be out of her way;And flowers and children close their eyesTill up in the morning the sun shall arise.Robert Louis Stevenson

But all of the things that belong to the day

Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way;

And flowers and children close their eyes

Till up in the morning the sun shall arise.

Robert Louis Stevenson

JUNE TWENTIETH

O prayer of childhood! Simple, innocent;O infant slumbers! Peaceful, pure and light;O happy worship! Ever gay with smiles,Meet prelude to the harmonies of night;As birds beneath the wing enfold their head,Nestled in prayer, the infant seeks its bed.Victor Hugo

O prayer of childhood! Simple, innocent;

O infant slumbers! Peaceful, pure and light;

O happy worship! Ever gay with smiles,

Meet prelude to the harmonies of night;

As birds beneath the wing enfold their head,

Nestled in prayer, the infant seeks its bed.

Victor Hugo

JUNE TWENTY-FIRST

In the little childish heart belowAll the sweetness seemed to grow and grow,And shine out in happy overflowFrom her blue, bright eyes.Westwood

In the little childish heart below

All the sweetness seemed to grow and grow,

And shine out in happy overflow

From her blue, bright eyes.

Westwood

JUNE TWENTY-SECOND

And when she saw her tender little babe,She felt how much the happy days of lifeOutweigh the sorrowful.Jean Ingelow

And when she saw her tender little babe,

She felt how much the happy days of life

Outweigh the sorrowful.

Jean Ingelow

JUNE TWENTY-THIRD

Between tears and smiles, the year, like the child,struggles into warmth and life.Donald G. Mitchell

Between tears and smiles, the year, like the child,

struggles into warmth and life.

Donald G. Mitchell

JUNE TWENTY-FOURTH

The months that touch, with added grace,This little prattler at my knee,In whose arch eye and speaking faceNew meaning every hour I see.Bryant

The months that touch, with added grace,

This little prattler at my knee,

In whose arch eye and speaking face

New meaning every hour I see.

Bryant

Reprinted from Bryant's Complete Poetical Works by permission of D. Appleton & Co.

JUNE TWENTY-FIFTH

Come to me, O ye children!And whisper in my earWhat the birds and the winds are singingIn your sunny atmosphere.Longfellow

Come to me, O ye children!

And whisper in my ear

What the birds and the winds are singing

In your sunny atmosphere.

Longfellow

JUNE TWENTY-SIXTH

The adorable, sweet, living, marvellous,Strange light that lightens usWho gaze, desertless of such grace,Full in a babe's warm face.Swinburne

The adorable, sweet, living, marvellous,

Strange light that lightens us

Who gaze, desertless of such grace,

Full in a babe's warm face.

Swinburne

JUNE TWENTY-SEVENTH

Do not think the youth has no force because hecan not speak to you and me.Emerson

Do not think the youth has no force because he

can not speak to you and me.

Emerson

JUNE TWENTY-EIGHTH

Birds in the night, that softly call,Winds in the night, that strangely sigh,Come to me, help me, one and all,And murmur baby's lullaby.Lionel H. Lewin

Birds in the night, that softly call,

Winds in the night, that strangely sigh,

Come to me, help me, one and all,

And murmur baby's lullaby.

Lionel H. Lewin

JUNE TWENTY-NINTH

'Tis grand to be six years old, dear,With pence in a money box,To ride on a wooden horse, dear,And leave off baby socks.F. E. Weatherly

'Tis grand to be six years old, dear,

With pence in a money box,

To ride on a wooden horse, dear,

And leave off baby socks.

F. E. Weatherly

JUNE THIRTIETH

Infancy conforms to nobody; all conform to it,so that one babe commonly makes four or five outof the adults who prattle and play to it.Emerson

Infancy conforms to nobody; all conform to it,

so that one babe commonly makes four or five out

of the adults who prattle and play to it.

Emerson

JULY

JULY FIRST

A little child, a limber elf,Singing, dancing to itself,A fairy thing with rosy cheeks,That always finds and never seeks,Makes such a vision to my sightAs fills a father's eye with light.S. T. Coleridge

A little child, a limber elf,

Singing, dancing to itself,

A fairy thing with rosy cheeks,

That always finds and never seeks,

Makes such a vision to my sight

As fills a father's eye with light.

S. T. Coleridge

JULY SECOND

Bright-featured as the July sunHer little face still played in,And splendors, with her birth begun,Had had no time for fading.Mrs. Browning

Bright-featured as the July sun

Her little face still played in,

And splendors, with her birth begun,

Had had no time for fading.

Mrs. Browning

JULY THIRD

The evening star doth o'er thee peep,To watch thy slumber bright;My little child, now go to sleepSafe in God's loving sight.George Cooper

The evening star doth o'er thee peep,

To watch thy slumber bright;

My little child, now go to sleep

Safe in God's loving sight.

George Cooper

JULY FOURTH

God promises the children heavenly play,And blooms in meadows queenly.Ingemann

God promises the children heavenly play,

And blooms in meadows queenly.

Ingemann

JULY FIFTH

But still I feel that His embraceSlides down by thrills through all things made,Through sight and sound of every place;As if my tender mother laid,On my shut lids her kisses pressure:Half waking me at night; and said:"Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser?"Mrs. Browning

But still I feel that His embrace

Slides down by thrills through all things made,

Through sight and sound of every place;

As if my tender mother laid,

On my shut lids her kisses pressure:

Half waking me at night; and said:

"Who kissed you through the dark, dear guesser?"

Mrs. Browning

JULY SIXTH

Even happier than the young wife who feels forthe first time consciousness of her motherhood.Chateaubriand

Even happier than the young wife who feels for

the first time consciousness of her motherhood.

Chateaubriand

JULY SEVENTH

And the least of us all that love himMay take, for a moment, partWith Angels around and above him,And I find place in his heart.Swinburne

And the least of us all that love him

May take, for a moment, part

With Angels around and above him,

And I find place in his heart.

Swinburne

JULY EIGHTH

The streamlet murmurs on its way;Dew falls at set of sun;The birds grow still at hush of day,So sleep, my little one.George Cooper

The streamlet murmurs on its way;

Dew falls at set of sun;

The birds grow still at hush of day,

So sleep, my little one.

George Cooper

JULY NINTH

The child was happy;Like a spirit of the air she moved,Wayward, yet, by all who knew her,For her tender heart beloved.Wordsworth

The child was happy;

Like a spirit of the air she moved,

Wayward, yet, by all who knew her,

For her tender heart beloved.

Wordsworth

JULY TENTH

My mother's voice, so forgotten yet so familiar,so unutterably dear!George Du Maurier

My mother's voice, so forgotten yet so familiar,

so unutterably dear!

George Du Maurier

JULY ELEVENTH

But were another childhood-world my share,I would be born a little sister there.George Eliot

But were another childhood-world my share,

I would be born a little sister there.

George Eliot

JULY TWELFTH

With what a look of proud commandThou shakest, in thy little hand,The coral rattle, with its silver bells,Making a merry tune.Longfellow

With what a look of proud command

Thou shakest, in thy little hand,

The coral rattle, with its silver bells,

Making a merry tune.Longfellow

Making a merry tune.

Longfellow

JULY THIRTEENTH

Let childhood's radiant mist the free child yetenfold.Hemans

Let childhood's radiant mist the free child yet

enfold.

Hemans

JULY FOURTEENTH

Be it, therefore, O mother, your sacred duty tomake your darling early feel the working of boththe outer and the inner light.Froebel

Be it, therefore, O mother, your sacred duty to

make your darling early feel the working of both

the outer and the inner light.

Froebel

JULY FIFTEENTH

We do not knowHow he may soften at the sight of the child:The silence often of pure innocencePersuades when speaking fails.Shakespeare

We do not know

How he may soften at the sight of the child:

The silence often of pure innocence

Persuades when speaking fails.

Shakespeare

JULY SIXTEENTH

Yet nothing is so radiant and so fairAs ——To see the light of babes about the house.Euripides

Yet nothing is so radiant and so fair

As ——

To see the light of babes about the house.

Euripides

JULY SEVENTEENTH

Through the gladness of little childrenAre the frostiest lives kept warm.Lucy Larcom

Through the gladness of little children

Are the frostiest lives kept warm.

Lucy Larcom

JULY EIGHTEENTH

As on the father's care-worn cheekThe ringlets of his child;The golden mingling with the gray,And stealing half its snows away.Holmes

As on the father's care-worn cheek

The ringlets of his child;

The golden mingling with the gray,

And stealing half its snows away.

Holmes

JULY NINETEENTH

There's one angel belongs to you on earth andthat's your mother.Auerbach

There's one angel belongs to you on earth and

that's your mother.

Auerbach

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