OCTOBER'S PARTY.

CTOBER gave a party;

OCT

The leaves by hundreds came, The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name.

WHILE

LITTLE BY LITTLE.

HILE the new years come, and the old years go
How, little by little, all things grow!

All things grow, and all decay

Little by little passing away.
Little by little, on fertile plain,
Ripen the harvests of golden grain,
Waving and flashing in the sun
When the summer at last is done.

Low on the ground an acorn lies
Little by little it mounts the skies,
Shadow and shelter for wandering herds,
Home for a hundred singing birds.
Little by little the great rocks grew,
Long, long ago, when the world was new;
Slowly and silently, stately and free,

Cities of coral under the sea

Little by little are builded, while so

The new years come and the old years go.

Little by little all tasks are done;

So are the crowns of the faithful won,

So is heaven in our hearts begun.

With work and with weeping, with laughter and play,

Little by little, the longest day

And the longest life are passing away –

Passing without return, while so

The new years come and the old years go.

P

- Selected.

56

GIV

A CHANCE.

IVE me a chance," an acorn said,
"And I'll grow to a mighty tree,

And then, perchance, on a summer's day,

In my shadow I'll shelter thee."

"Give me a chance," said the rose-bush small,

"And I'll bloom with a beauty rare,

And out of my heart in its gratitude
For you I will scent the air."

"Give me a chance," said a bobolink, "And I'll sing you a merry song,

That will throb in your heart like a bit of heaven Throughout your whole life long."

"Give me a chance," said a little child,
"And I'll touch that heart of thine,

And thou wilt feel as once thou felt
When the world was all divine."

- Selected

A

THE CHESTNUT BURR

WEE little nut lay deep in its nest

Of satin and brown, the softest and best,
And slept and grew while its cradle rocked,
As it hung in the boughs that interlocked.

Now the house was small where the cradle lay,
As it swung in the winds by night and day;
For a thicket of underbrush fenced it round,
This lone little cot, by the great sun browned.

This little nut grew, and erelong it found
There was work outside on the soft green ground;
It must do its part, so the world might know
It had tried one little seed to sow.

And soon the house that had kept it warm
Was tossed about by the autumn storm,
The stem was cracked, the old house fell,
And the chestnut burr was an empty shell.

But the little tree, as it waiting lay,
Dreamed a wonderful dream one day,
Of how it should break its coat of brown,
And live as a tree, to grow up and down.

- Selected.

COM

NUTTING.

OME, Robert and Harry, come, Lily and May!
October is here, and our glad holiday.

With every breath of the keen, frosty breeze,

Brown chestnuts are dropping from all the high trees.

Come here with your bags and your big baskets, quick,
And Harry's new jack-knife shall cut a long stick.
Then Robert shall climb the old chestnut-tree tall,
And thrash the big boughs till the ripe chestnuts fall.

So shiny and smooth, and so plump and so brown, The handsomest chestnuts that ever fell down; Though stately and proud the old nut tree has stood A hundred long years—the king of the wood.

You dear little squirrel, you look very wise,
With long bushy tail and bright, shiny, black eyes.
Pray, sir, do you fancy you own the big tree?
It's quite a mistake, sir, between you and me.

We don't mean to rob you, dear, not in the least,
But we too like chestnuts, and long for a feast;
We know you must gather your snug winter store,
But after we go you will find plenty more.

- Selected.

LITTLE NUT PEOPLE.

LD Mistress Chestnut once lived in a burr,

Jack Frost split it wide with his keen silver knife,
And tumbled her out at the risk of her life.

Here is Don Almond, a grandee from Spain,
Some raisins from Malaga came in his train;
He has a twin brother a shade or two leaner,
When both come together we shout "Philopena!

This is Sir Walnut; he's English, you know,
A friend of my Lady and Lord So-and-So.
Whenever you ask old Sir Walnut to dinner,
Be sure and have wine for the gouty old sinner.