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Little Rose.
f) HE eomes with fairy footsteps—
k Softly their echoes fall —
1 And her shadow plays like summer shade
Across the garden wall.
The golden light is dancing bright
r >J ’Mid the mazes of her hair,
\ 9 And hes fair young locks are waring free
* To the wooing of the air.
Like a sportful fawn she boundeth
So gleefully along;
Asa wild young bird she caroleth
The burden of a song.
The summer flowers are clustering thick
Around her dancing feet,
And on her cheek the summer breeze
Is breathing soft and sweet.
The very sunbeams seem to linger
Above the holy head,
And the wild flowers at her coming
Their richest fragrance shed.
And oh 1 how lovely light and fragrance
Mingle in the life within;
Oh ! how fondly do they nestle
Hound the soul that knows no sin.
She comes—the spirit of our girlhood—
A thing of mortal birth,
Yet bearing still the breath of Heaven,
To redeem her from the earth.
She comes in bright-robed innocence,
Unsoiled by blot or blight.
And passeth by our path,
A gleam of angel light.
Oh ! blessed things arc children—
The gifts of heavenly love ;
They stand betwixt our world hearts
And better things above;
They link us with the spirit-world
By purity and truth,
And keep our hearts still fresh and young
With the presence of their youth.
Blackwood'a Magazine.
MW
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
JACK DOBELL;
Or, A Boy’s Adventures in Texas.
A STORY FOR BOYS.
CHAPTER XX.
HUNTING A HOAD THROUGH TIIE CANEBRAKE
—DETERMINED TO CUT MY WAY THROUGH
—AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY —AN AD
VENTURE WITH BEARS —WORSE SCARED
THAN HURT —PREPARATIONS FOR THE
JOURNEY FAREWELL TO MY OLD QUAR
TERS ON THE ROAD AND THROUGH AT
LAST !
Q||f, much nearer the
w timber to-day than upon
iSInSVHit! the former occasion, as
M well for safety as to enable
me to examine more close
i&mj ly every little path or trail there
might be loading into it. In this
way I found several that had es-
W caped my observation before, but
they always gave out after going a few
hundred yards into the brake. I went
several miles beyond the point where I
had turned back, upon the former occa
sion, but still I could find no road leading
across the brake, and feeling somewhat
fatigued, and withal tolerably hungry, I
halted in a clump of trees to take a snack
and rest myself, and to hold a sort of
“ counc il of war” with Flaeco and myself
BURKE’S WEEKLY.
as to what Avas best to be done under the
circumstances. Finally I came to the de
termination to return to my old quarters,
and with the aid of a sort of broad-axe
which I had noticed there in an out-house,
aud my butchcr-knife, to set to work re
gularly and cut my way through the
brake, if it took me a month to do so.
Thus resolved, as soon as I had rested
sufficiently, I started back towards home.
Nothing happened to detain me on the
way, and about an hour before sundown
I crossed the strip of cane and the bridge
of logs, and entered the little prairie in
which my “domains” were situated. As
I was proceeding leisurely towards the
house, it occurred to me that it might be
well to make an examination of that por
tion of the prairie bordering on the main
brake, Avhich heretofore I had not done.
With this intention I left the path I was
folloAving, and when I had gone a feAV
hundred yards, I struck a small trail lead
ing towards the main brake, along which
the Avheel tracks of some vehicle were
dimly visible. This I followed until it
led me to an indentation in the brake, the
entrance to Avhich Avas so narrow and so
aycll concealed by bushes as to be hardly
perceptible at the distance of a few paces.
Still following this trail, I came, on the
farther side of the indentation, to a ncAvly
cut road, wide enough for the passage of
a wagon and team. I was satisfied that
at last I had found Avhat I had been so
long in search of; but, in order to assure
myself of the fact, I followed this road for
more than half a mile in the brake, and
as it still kept on in the same direction, I
Avas convinced it would carry me through.
By this time, the sun was down, and I
concluded to return to my old quarters,
and take a fresh start in tlio morning.
As I Avalked along, my attention Avas
suddenly draAvn to two large black objects
a shoit distance ahead of me in the road.
I stopped to reconnoitre, and at the same
moment b lacco gave a loav growl and
retreated behind me. By the dim light
that struggled through the overlapping
canes, I at length perceived that the two
black objects were two huge hears, stand
ing perfectly still, apparently waiting f OP
Flaceo and myself. For a moment, I
thought of retreating, but upon reflection
as I had never heard of any one beiim
attacked by bears without provocation I
screwed up my courage and resolved to
attempt to pass them. There was no
chance to go around them, for the cane
Avas so thick on both sides of the road
that I might almost as avcll have tried to
penetrate a solid Avail. So I dmv mv
butcher-knife and boldly advanced to-
Avards them. When I got Avithin five or.
six feet of them, they commenced growl
ing, and looked so large and ferocious,
and so bent on disputing my Avav, that
my heart almost failed ine, but it Avastoo
late then to turn back, so I continued to
advance, and as I did so, one of them
dreAv off to one side of the
road, and one to the other,
and avc passed between
them. As avo Avent by (so
closely that I could almost
ha\ T e touched either one of
them Avith my hand,) they
showed their white teeth
and growled still more
fiercely, and momentarily I
expected they would rush
upon us, but they did not,
nor did they’ slioav any dis
position to pursue us. All
the while, Flaeco kept cdose
at my heels—the first and
! last time I ever seav him shoAV anything
like fear, blit upon this occasion he Avas
evidently coAved.
It is said that the black bear seldom or
never attacks man, unless Avoundcd and
brought to bay, and I do not assert posi
tively that tliesc had any intention ot
making a supper upon myself and Flaeco,
but, to say the least of it, their bearing
Avas exceedingly suspicious towards us,
and I felt thankful when avc reached
“home,” and Avere once more safely hous
ed within its Avails.
I rose early the next morning, and set
to Avork to prepare as much provision as
I could conveniently carry in my haACi
sack. My supplies for the road consisted
of the following articles: 2 lbs. ot coftee,
parched and ground ; G lbs. of middling
bacon ; 4 lbs. of sugar; some salt and
pepper; about a gallon of coarse meal, n
bottle of syrup, and another oi candied
honey. These, with care, 1 calculated
would last myself and Flaeco at least ten
days, even if no provisions could be ha
on the road. Besides my rations, 1 h‘ l
also to carry a tin cup, for making coftee,