"You will, no doubt, as on you move To flocks and herds a blessing prove. But when the sun ascends on high,

Its beams will draw me towards the sky, little power

And I must own my

I've but refreshed a humble flower."

"Hold!" cried the stream, "nor thus repine; For well 'tis known a Power divine, Subservient to His will supreme,

1

Has made the dewdrop and the stream.
Though small thou art (I that allow),
No mark of Heaven's contempt art thou
Thou hast refreshed a humble flower,
And done according to thy power."

All things that are, both great and small,
One glorious Author formed them all:
This thought may all repinings quell,
What serves his purpose serves him well.

* 41 *

GLAD AS A BIRD.

ALL soft and brown the upturned fields
Lie mellow in the sun;
The very skies yield auguries 2
Of better days begun,-

1 subservient, serving to promote, submissive.
2 yield auguries, give out signs.

A warmth, a fulness, brooding there,
Which nothing else could bring,
A sense of blessing in the air,
The promise of the spring.

And shall the days of cloud and cold
In truth no more be seen?

The snowdrop through the loosened mould
Sends up its spikes of green;
Fresh gold upon the willow falls;

Soft lights the uplands steep,1—

A strange, sweet change, whose coming calls Such loveliness from sleep.

And I am glad as any bird;

It is a joy to be ; 2

There is no sound of life fresh-stirred

But brings delight to me.

The flow of brooks, the cock's clear call
From distant hamlets borne, -
My pulse beats happy time with all'
These voices of the morn.

O Nature! thou my first, best friend,

My earliest love, and best, With us was never any end Of confidence and rest:

1 steep, bathe, i.e., soft lights cover the uplands.

2 be, to have life.

Here no reserve,1 but frankest speech,

No need for place apart;

I do not fear to let thee hear

The beating of my heart.

CAROLINE S. ROGERS.

* 42 *

ENTERTAINMENT.

I STOPPED at an inn one day to dine;
The host was a generous fellow :
A golden apple for a sign

Hung out on a branch, so mellow.

It was the good old apple-tree
Himself so nobly dined me;
Sweet fare and sparkling juices he
Was pleased and proud to find me.

To his green house came many a guest, Light-winged and light-hearted;

They sang their best, they ate his best, Then up they sprang, and departed.

I found a bed to rest my head,-
A bed of soft green clover:
The host a great cool shadow spread
For a quilt, and covered me over.

1 reserve, concealment.

I asked him what I had to pay,
I saw his head shake slightly:
Oh, blest be he forever and aye
Who treated me so politely.

C. T. BROOKS.
(From the German of UHLAND).

* 43 *

THE CROCUS;

OR, THE DUTY OF PATIENCE.

Down in my solitude under the snow,
Where nothing cheering can reach me,
Here, without light to see how to grow,
I'll trust to Nature to teach me.

I will not despair, nor be idle, nor frown,
Enclosed in so gloomy a dwelling;

My leaves shall run up, and my roots shall run down,

While the bud in my bosom is swelling.

Soon as the frost will get out of my bed,
From this cold dungeon to free me,

I will peer up with my little bright head —
All will be joyful to see me.

Then from my heart will young buds diverge1
As rays of the sun from their focus; 2
And I from the darkness of earth shall emerge,
A happy and beautiful crocus!

1 diverge, spread out as from a centre.

2 focus, the point at which rays of light meet.

Gayly arrayed in my yellow and green,
When to their view I have risen,
Will they not wonder how one so serene
Came from so dismal a prison?

1

Many, perhaps, from so simple a flower This useful lesson may borrow,— Patient to-day through its gloomiest hour, We come out the brighter to-morrow!

H. F. GOULD.

* 44 *

THE BEST WEALTH.

I NEITHER toil nor pray for wealth,
No riches covet, only health,

The healthy heart, the healthy hand,
And healthy brain to understand.

With these, what need of wealth have I?
The world is mine, earth, sea, and sky;
And every star and every flower
To give me pleasure has the power.

The meanest object I behold

Has teachings rich and manifold,

Can cheer the heart, the spirits raise,
And touch the chords of song and praise.

1 serene, calm, unruffled.