LIFE'S REVERSES.
Part First.
'Twas a cauld winter's e'en, wild an' bitter the blast
Which howled through the chinks o' the door as it passed,
Till the snaw flakes whirled ben, an' the licht ashes raised
Frae the comfortless hearth, whar the embers had blazed:
Sad, sad was the picture o' wretchedness there,
O' beauty an' guilelessness, sufferin', an' care.
A mither still young, but pale, haggard, an' weak,
Looked as cauld as if death's han' had frozen her cheek,
As a wee shiv'rin' lassie crouched close to her side,
Seekin' heat frae a share o' an auld tartan plaid;
Whilst Jessie, the elder, wi' garments fu' scant,
Wha's face bore the impress o' sorrow an' want,
Which howled through the chinks o' the door as it passed,
Till the snaw flakes whirled ben, an' the licht ashes raised
Frae the comfortless hearth, whar the embers had blazed:
Sad, sad was the picture o' wretchedness there,
O' beauty an' guilelessness, sufferin', an' care.
A mither still young, but pale, haggard, an' weak,
Looked as cauld as if death's han' had frozen her cheek,
As a wee shiv'rin' lassie crouched close to her side,
Seekin' heat frae a share o' an auld tartan plaid;
Whilst Jessie, the elder, wi' garments fu' scant,
Wha's face bore the impress o' sorrow an' want,
