My books kept me from the ring, the dog-pit, the tavern, and the saloon.

How bravely Autumn paints upon the sky The gorgeous fame of Summer which is fled!

The year's in wane; There is nothing adorning; The night has no eve, And the day has no morning; Cold winter gives warning!

No shade, no shine, no butterflies, no bees, No fruits, no flowers, no leaves, no birds - November!

Our very hopes belied our fears, Our fears our hopes belied; We thought her dying when she slept, And sleeping when she died.

I remember, I remember The fir-trees dark and high; I used to think their slender tops Were close against the sky; It was a childish ignorance, But now 't is little joy To know I'm farther off from heaven Than when I was a boy.

Half of the failures in life come from pulling one's horse when he is leaping.