PEARLS AND PEBBLES. 



PLEASANT DAYS OF MY 

 CHILDHOOD. 



" How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood, 

 When fond recollection presents them to view ! 

 The orchard, the meadow, the deep-tangled wildwood, 

 And every loved spot which my infancy knew." 



There is something almost magical in the word May. 

 It brings back to memory pictures of all things sweet 

 and fair that charmed us in our youthful days ; it recalls 

 the joys of infancy when we filled our laps with flowers. 

 We hear again the song of blackbird, linnet and 

 robin, and the far-away call of that mystery of child- 

 hood, the cuckoo. We hear the murmur of the summer 

 wind among the rustling green flags beside the river ; 

 we scent the flowers of the hawthorn, and the violets 

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