Newspaper Page Text
Written for Burke's Weekly.
Three Links of a Golden Chain;
08. A DREAM OF AN INFANT TRIO IN HEAVEN.
Inscribed to Mrs. F. R. S., of Covington, Ga.
BY I.ENORE.
near the close of yesternight,
Vgtp Wh cn sleep had left my eyes,
1 Ilf) In Fancy’s vision clear and bright,
I wander’d to the skies:
OfAfg And as I moved on airy wing
Along the starry way
A gentle form to me did cling,
And softly seemed to say:
“ Dost thoti perceive the turbid waves
Os Death’s dark rolling stream ?”
I looked, and saw it lined with graves,
And shudder’d in my dream ;
And as I hover’d o’er the stream —
Myself and sister clear, —
She heaved a sigh, and on my hand
I felt a crystal tear.
Three little hillocks, side by side,
Now met my anxious view.
I did not strive her grief to chide,
My heart was Sadden’d too.
Tho’ two of them had long been made,
The grass looked fresh and green;
On one the impress of the spade
Might still be plainly seen.
From this sad scene she turned away,
And said, “ 111 cease to sigh,
We’ll find them in the realms of day,”
And pointed to the sky :
Then, lighted by the silver ray
Os night’s bright crescent queen,
Wo rose above the milky-way
And all its glitt’ring sheen.
Up there we found a planet bright,
Far from this vale of tears,
Whose brightness seemed to dim the light
Os all the twinkling spheres;
The freshness of its “ living green,”
Oh how it charmed tho eye !
Such dazzling brightness ne'er was seen
Beneath our azure sky.
A lovely city, too, was there.
Os amethyst and gold ;
The beauties of that city fair
This pen can ne’er unfold.
To us its gates were open’d wide,
That we might enter in,
Where saints and angels do abide,
Forever free from sin.
Among them was a trio bright,
Whose hearts had known no guile,
Their lovely features beamed with light
Beneath the Saviour's smile,
“ Oh, see my darling cherubs there,
The brightest of the seven.
These are the golden links,” said she,
“ That bind our hearts to Heaven.”
Maeon, Ga.
*»+
A Little Lamp.
“A little lamp,” writes McCheyne,
“is a very small thing; it burns calmly
and without noise, yet it giveth light to
all who are in the house.” And so there
is a quiet influence which, like the flame
ot a scented lamp, fills many a home with
light and fragrance.
u Eet your light so shine before men
that they may see your good works and
glorify your Father which is in Heaven.”
—— *©-«■
A mercy is none the less great be
cause our wills are not consulted as to
the time and manner of its bestowment.
B uItK E’ S WEEK EY .
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
THE GIRAFFE.
0W man A ° ar rcu( i ers
have seen a giraffe ? He
is she tallest of all ani
mals, and one of the
r most beautiful. 11e is a
native of Africa, and is
Uffi found in no other part of the
globe. It assimilates with the
camel in the length of its
neck, and in some other respects, and
has been classed by some naturalists
with the camel. Others consider that
its proper place is between the ante
lope and the stag. Its skin is beautifully
spotted, somewhat resembling that of the
leopard, and it is sometimes called the
Came 1o p a rd, in consequence of its
similarity in shape to the camel and in
color to the leopard.
The male giraffe frequently attains to
the height of eighteen feet, the female be
ing two feet lower. Ilis neck and legs
are large, and his body short, but he is
nevertheless one of the most graceful of
animals. Properly speaking, he has no
horns, but the two frontal bones are pro
longed sometimes to the length of eight
or ten inches, and have the appearance of
horns. Ilis head is small and beautifully
shaped, and his eyes are bright and ex
pressive of gentleness. His mouth is like
that of a stag, and his teeth are small and
very white. His hoofs arc cloven, like
those of the ox, and his tongue is long,
rough and thin. This last member is
somewhat remarkable: it is not only an
organ of taste, but possesses nearly all
the powers of the trunk of an elephant,
and with it the giraffe is enabled to reach
the small and tender leaves at a height
fully twelve inches beyond its mouth, and
which would otherwise be out of its reach.
Gumming, the great African traveler
and lion hunter, saw a large number of
these beautiful animals, and furnishes
many interesting facts concerning them.
He thinks that the average size of a herd
of giraffes is about sixteen, but be occa
sionally met with droves of thirty, and
on one occasion he counted forty togeth
er. “ These herds are composed of gi
raffes of various sizes, from the young
giraffe of nine or ten feet in height to the
dark chestnut-colored old bull of the herd,
whose exalted head towers above his
companions, generally attaining to a
height of upwards of eighteen feet. The
females are of lower stature, and more
delicately formed, than tho males, their
height averaging from sixteen to seven
teen feet.”
Some writers have discovered ugliness
and a want of grace in the giraffe, but
Mr. Cumming, after having seen them in
their native wilds, considers them among
“the most strikingly beautiful animals in
creation; and when a herd of them is seen
scattered through a grove of the pictu
resque parasol - topped acacias, which
adorn the native plains, and on whose up
permost shoots the}’ are enabled to browse
by the colossal height with which nature
has so admirably endowed them, he must
indeed be slow of conception who fails to
discover both grace and dignity in all
their movements.”
Several giraffes have been exhibited in
this country. Two very fine specimens
were shown throughout the South about
26 or 27 years ago, the tallest being six
teen feet in height. In his native land,
the giraffe’s favorite food is the acacia
tree, but there were three in the Zoologi
cal Gardens, at London, some years ago,
which were fed principally on hay, placed
in high racks, with an occasional treat of
carrots, onions, or lump sugar. “It is a
peaceful animal, provided with neither
means of attack nor defence. It shuns
danger, is watchful of attack, and flies
from it. Erect on its stilt-like legs, it sur
veys the wide expanse of the sandy des
ert, and no animal can approach it unob
served. It defends itself with its feet
when compelled to resist, and by its kick
in <>■ it has been seen to beat off and dis
courage even a lion.’
—
An usher in an English school, see
ing one of the boys with a thick lump in
one of his die. as, asked “Quid est hoc?”
To which the lad, sputtering out a large
piece of chewing tobacco, replied “ Hoc
est quid for which repartee the master
forgave him.
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