Gems In Verse

It setMiis bo strance to aee her curia Pinned up in paper, and to knpw J ust l.ow she cléans her teeth.thoso pearls. And liow alie makcs her eyobrowi bow; To hear hei oíd a little bit, Or on tobitcco gravely preach, Or f rankly gay my oollar's flt Wlth perfect fearlcssnesa of speech; To Tatch her ironing bits oí laco. And scwing buttons on her shoes. And calmiy powderlng her face. And with a hand glass taking views At various angles of the stylo In which her amooth back halr ia dreaaed. And asking with a lenlent smile Which I consider looks the beat; To see hor gently fall asleep Upon my knee- the dearest sightl And thon to kuow that me sheMl keep Awake to chatter half the night. Theso things quite wondrous seem to me In this, my lovely ten days' wife- While any one would think that ehe Had- well. been married all her lifel -Madeline S. Bridges. The Story of 1,1 fe. A child in the narscry crying- a boy iu a cricket field "out"- A youth for a phantasy sighing- a man with a ílt of the gout- A beart dried up and narrowed- a task repeated iu vain- A fleld plowed doep and harrowed, but bare and barren of grain- Some seuse of experience wasted, of counsel inisunderstood. Of pleasure bitter when tas tod, and pain that did hini uo good - Some sparks of sentiment perished, some flashes oí genius lost - A torrent of false love cherished- a ripple of true love rossed - Some feeble breasting of trotible to glide again with the stream- In principio yoid as a bubble - in purpose vague as a dream - A future hope half hearted, for dim is the f uture now That the triplo crown is parted, and death ia damp on ihe brow. And a debt is lO pay by the debtor - a doctor, a lawyer, a nurse; A feeling he should have been better, a doubt if he could have been worse; While the ghostly fluger traces its ghostly message of doom. And a troop of ghostly faces pass on In a darkened room, With ghostly shapes to beckon, and ghostly voices to cali, And the grim recorder to reckon, and add the tptai of all The sun of lif e expended- a pearl in a pig trough cast- A eomedy played and ended, and what has it come to at last? The deail man propped on a pillow- the journey taken alone- The tomb wilh an urn and a willow. and a lie carved deep in the stone! Do the Children Pay? "Do children pay?" said oíd man Scruggs, a-leauin on his lioe, "Jest wnit 'til you've been married, say, some twenty years or bo. You'U have inore sense thaa to stand up there and throw your time away, By askin sech fool questions. Payl Great goshl Oí course they pay! "We go home tuckered ont at night, they'U climb upon our knees. And wlion we try to keep 'em down, they'U cry for one more squeeze. And raar and pitch about us all, until fust thing we know Our joints are freo f rom achín and our hearts are in a luw. "They pay us when their frank young love shines out in their jolly eyes; Even when our ears are deafened, there's a music in their cries Sweeter thau all the üddles and pianners over made- Don't think it's so? Well, now, you wait, and 'member what I've said. "The man whoso children's hearts are hia ia the man who is truly biest; The sisht at home of his boys and gals is more to him than rest. I swow! There wouldn't be half the foola in this weary world today U all men only eould understand what big intrus' chiidren pay." - Browne Perriman. True Greatness. I count that man, who striving well Wins not by fate nor chance, Greater than he who set a heil Of swords around fair France, I count that man, who loeing all Plucks heart to win again, Greater than Ctesar, who in Gaul Uid slay a million men. 1 count that man, who living right Scorns every shade of wrong, Greater than lie who wlns a flght, Or gains a name in song. - Joseph Dana Miller. A Woman's Hate. "I hate you! I hate you!" the maiden said, And her eyelids drooped and her face grew red. And she turned f rom her lover and hung her heal. The flush crupt up to her rich brown hair. And she plucked to pieces a rosebud fair, Aa she stole a lance at her lover there. And he, these men are so f uil of suile; His eyes a-glistening with mirth the while, Looked calmly on, with a doubting smile. "I hate you! I hate you!" she said again. And sbe tapped her too on the carpet then, As if each tap were a stab at men. Her lip was a-quivcr, her eyes in mist, Her cheek a nd throat, as the suu gods kissed, Were bathed in the essence of amethyst. And (lien her love, with a startled look,' (irew serious quite, and nis face forsook The confldeut glow whieh it erstwhile took. And, "Oh, very well," as he rose to go; "And f it please you to have it so, Why, so it ahall be, as you iloubtless know." He took one step, but a sudden turned; Oh, mach the sweetest is bliss unearned; And looked in tlie tear wet eyes that yearned. No word she spoke, but her arms entwined Around bis neok. Oh, a womaii's mind Is a puzzle, to vvhich uo key you'U fmd. Upon his shoulder she laid hor head, And ho kissed her cheek, which -as still rose red; "You know I hate you!" was all she said. - Wasp. A Past I'oretells a Future. Thoso were daya re remeinber now, wlien only blaze Far off the storm's black edges brokenly. Who thinks at niht thut mom will ever be? Who knows, ('ar out upon the central sea, That anywhero is land? and yet, :. shore Has set behind us, and will rise before. A past foreteíls a futuro. - Bayanl Taylor. Duty. What is our duty here? To tend From good to better- thenco to 1 Grateful to drink life's cup- then bind Unmurniuring to our bed of rest; To pluck the fiowers that round us blow, Scattering the fragrance as we go. - Sir J. Bowring. Courage. Rocks have been shaken from their solid base; But what shall move a flrm and dauntless mind? I The b8t íb alwaya the ctn-iipent Take The Courier.