Soon goldenrod close followed
And aster's gentle eye;

Now withered leaves and dying sod
Beneath a somber sky.

I start

among the grasses

What eyes of heaven-blue gleam,
All darkly fringed with lashes
Beside the quiet stream?

Oh! glance of true affection,
The gentian still is here;
The promise set 'mid fading,
The darling of the year.

- Kate L. Brown

MARIGOLDS.

AME NATURE years and years ago

Dat

Sat resting in a wayside bower,

And looked into a cottage yard

Without the grace of one wee flower,
To thank for light the sweet blue skies,
And bless the children's longing eyes.

She leaned her head upon her hand,
And took her glasses off to think;
"Sunshine there is to spare," she said,
"And dew enough for all to drink,
If there were many blossoms more
To grow upon the earth's green floor."

Then rising quickly from her seat
She plucked beneath the cottage eaves
The sunbeams that were wasted there,
And bound them into tiny sheaves,
Tied them with dainty bands of green,
And then, on tall stems scarcely seen,

Set them beside the cottage door,
Beneath the wall, and by the gate,
And when the morning came that way
It found them all in golden state:
Gay blossoms lifted toward the sky,
And nodding to a butterfly.

The dew was on their shining heads
Just ruffled by the laughing breeze;

The children danced and clapped their hands;
Out from the corn-flowers flew the bees;
All summer breathed in their rich folds,

And people called them marigolds.

- Susan Hartley

THE FLAX FLOWER.

H, the little flax flower!

OH,

It groweth on the hill,

And, be the breeze awake or 'sleep,

It never standeth still.

It groweth, and it groweth fast;
One day it is a seed,

And then a little grassy blade
Scarce better than a weed.

But then out comes the flax flower
As blue as is the sky;

And "'Tis a dainty little thing,"
We say as we go by.

Ah! 'tis a goodly little thing;
It groweth for the poor,
And many a peasant blesseth it
Beside his cottage door.

He thinketh how those slender stems
That shimmer in the sun,

Are rich for him in web or woof

And shortly shall be spun.

He thinketh how those tender flowers
Of seed will yield him store,

And sees in thought his next year's crop,

Blue shining round his door.

Oh, the little flax flower!

66

The mother then says she,

'Go, pull the thyme, the heath, the fern,

But let the flax flower be!

It groweth for the children's sake,

It groweth for our own;

There are flowers enough upon the hill,

But leave the flax alone!

The farmer hath his fields of wheat,
Much cometh to his share;

We have this little plot of flax,

That we have tilled with care."

Oh, the goodly flax flower!
It groweth on the hill,

And, be the breeze awake or 'sleep,
It never standeth still;

It seemeth all astir with life,

As if it loved to thrive,

As if it had a merry heart

Within its stem alive.

Then fair befall the flax field,
And may the kindly shower

Give strength unto its shining stem,
Give seed unto its flower!

- Mary Howitt.

THE WIND.

'HAT is the wind, mamma?

WHAT

"'Tis air in motion, child." "Why can I never see the wind That blows so fierce and wild?"

"Because the gases, dear,

Of which the air is made,

Are quite transparent; that is, we
See through, but see no shade."

"Fluids, which, if we squeeze

In space too small, will burst with force."

"And what are fluids, please?"

"Fluids are what will flow,

And gases are so light

That, when we give them room enough,
They rush with eager flight."

"And when the air is full

Of oxygen, we're gay,

But when there is not quite enough,
We're dull or faint away."

- Mother Truth's Melodies.

THE POINTS OF THE COMPASS.

AID Wind to the bright little weather vane,

SAID

"I'll teach you, I'll teach you;

Mind my commands, come sunshine or rain;
I'll teach you, I'll teach you."

Said Wind to the bright little weather vane,

"Find east, dear, the east, dear,

'Tis where the sun comes up again;

The east, dear, the east, dear.

"Now turn to the west where the sun goes down,

The west, dear, the west, dear,

See all the little clouds wear a shining crown,
In the west, dear, in the west, dear.