"How pleasant it is for a father to sit at his child's board. It is like an aged man reclining under ..." — Walter Scott

O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!

Look back, and smile on perils past.

Each age has deemed the new-born year the fittest time for festal cheer.

O! many a shaft, at random sent, Finds mark the archer little meant! And many a word, at random spoken, May soothe or wound a heart that's broken!