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THE MAN WHO FRETS AT WORLDLY
STRIFE
.

A merry heart goes all the way,
A sad one tires in a mile-a.”

Winter’s Tale.

The man who frets at worldly strife,
Grows sallow, sour, and thin;
Give us the lad whose happy life
Is one perpetual grin;
He, Midas-like, turns all to gold,
He smiles when others sigh,
Enjoys alike the hot and cold,
And laughs through wet and dry.

There’s fun in every thing we meet,
The greatest, worst, and best,
Existence is a merry treat,
And every speech a jest:
Be’t ours to watch the crowds that pass
Where Mirth’s gay banner waves;
To show fools through a quizzing-glass,
And bastinade the knaves.