JANUARY 5, 18 —.

Went to a skating-rink a little while,

To see them slide in the new-fangled style;

And, strange enough, this eve a letter came

From a friend — Abdiel Stebbins is his name —

A cousin of my aunt, Sophia Dean;

A wise old man, but clumsy like, and green.

He's on a visit in a neighboring city,

And he has been a-skating — more's the pity!

He tells it in a manner quite sincere;

I think perhaps I'll paste it right in here: