Then do not look disheartened
O'er the work you have to do,
And say that such a mighty task
You never can get through,
But just endeavor day by day
Another point to gain,

And soon the mountain which you

Will prove to be a plain.

feared

"Rome was not builded in a day,"
The ancient proverb teaches;
And Nature, by her trees and flowers,
The same sweet sermon preaches.
Think not of far-off duties,

But of duties which are near,
And, having once begun to work,
Resolve to persevere.

* 13 *

I-HAVE AND O-HAD-I ;

OR, A BIRD IN HAND IS WORTH TWO IN THE BUSH.

THERE are two little songsters well known in the land,

Their names are I-Have and O-Had-I;

I-Have will come tamely and perch on your hand,

But O-Had-I will mock you most sadly.

A story of a dim ravine

O'er which the towering tree-tops lean,
With one blue rift of sky between:

And there, two thousand years ago,
A little flower as white as snow
Swayed in the silence to and fro.

Day after day, with longing eye,
The floweret watched the narrow sky,
And fleecy clouds that floated by.

And through the darkness, night by night, One gleaming star would climb the height, And cheer the lonely floweret's sight.

Thus watching the blue heavens afar,
And the rising of its favorite star,
A slow change came, but not to mar:

For softly o'er its petals 1 white
There crept a blueness, like the light
Of skies upon a summer night;

And in its chalice,2 I am told,

3

The bonny bell was formed to hold
A tiny star, that gleamed like gold.

1 pet'als, leaves.

2 chalice (chalis), cup, flower-cup.

3 bonny, beautiful.

Now, little people sweet and true,
I find a lesson here for you,

Writ in the floweret's bell of blue:

The patient child whose watchful eye
Strives after all things pure and high
Shall take their image by and by.

* 16 *

THE BARLEY-MOWERS' SONG.

BARLEY-MOWERS, here we stand,

One, two, three, a steady band,
True of heart and strong of limb,
Ready in our harvest trim;

All a-row, with spirits blithe,
Now we whet the bended scythe,
Rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink-a-tink!

Side by side, now bending low,
Down the swaths of barley go,

1

Stroke by stroke, as true's the chime

Of the bells, we keep in time;

Then we whet the ringing scythe,
Standing 'mong the barley lithe,2
Rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink, rink-a-tink-a-tink.

*18*

THE BUILDING OF THE NEST.

THEY'LL Come again to the apple-tree,
Robin and all the rest, -

When the orchard branches are fair to see In the snow of the blossoms dressed; And the prettiest thing in the world will be The building of the nest.

Weaving it well, so round and trim,

Hollowing it with care; Nothing too far away for him,

Nothing for her too fair;

Hanging it safe on the topmost limb,-
Their castle in the air.

Ah, mother-bird, you'll have weary days.
When the eggs are under your breast,
And your mate will fear for wilful ways
When the wee ones leave the nest;
But they'll find their wings in a glad amaze,
And God will see to the rest.

So come to the trees with all your train
When the apple blossoms blow;

Through the April shimmer of sun and rain
Go flying to and fro;

And sing to our hearts as we watch again

Your fairy building grow.

MRS. M. E. SANGSTER.

* 19 *

CLEANLINESS.

ALL endearing cleanliness,
Virtue next to godliness,

Easiest, cheapest, needful'st duty,
To the body health and beauty:
Who that's human would refuse it,
When a little water does it?

CHARLES AND MARY LAMB

(In "Poetry for Children ").

* 20 *

LADY TABBYSKIN'S BALL.

LADY Tabbyskin gave a large party last night,
While we were asleep in our beds;

The pussy-cats danced in the clear moonlight,
All over the tiles1 and leads.

Sir Grimalkin2 the Fierce, just home from the

wars,

And Mademoiselle Minette, from France,You'd never suspect such a darling had claws, — Led off in the first country-dance.4

1 tile, a piece of baked clay used for roofing.

2 Grimalkin (gri măl'kin), a name given to an old cat.

8 Mademoiselle, Miss.

4 country dance, a dance in which the partners are arranged in opposite lines-rightly contra-dance.