Newspaper Page Text
242
permitted to leave her mother—Mrs.
Martin, as usual, remaining at home —
stood near the chair, with her doll in her
hand, trying to attract the baby’s atten*
tion.
Lillian was now called by a little boy,
who was standing near the Tree. He
pointed to it, and said :
“ Oh, Miss Lillian, just look at the
Tree! See how many nice presents are
left there for you! Your cousin Paul
saw you standing so still, looking at the
portraits, awhile ago, that he wouldn’t
let any one interrupt you, but told them
to let you remain there until you got
ready for them. There’s the crook ;
you can take it and lift your things from
the Tree.”
Lillian soon detached several rare and
beautiful gifts, which had been left there
for her. With a happy, grateful heart
she sought Mary and Carrie, and found
them in one of the bed rooms. After
the girls had exhibited their several gifts
to each other, Lillian said :
“0, girls! I had such a singular
dream last night.”
Carrie exclaimed : “ Please tell it to
us, for it is so seldom that I hear any
one relate a dream.”
“ Well, you remember, last Christmas
I received a letter from Santa Claus. I
went to sleep last night thinking about
that letter. You remember that one of
Santa Claus’ sons was named Wilhelm,
and that cousin Paul and Edward were
disposed to tease cousin Mary and I
about him ; because he sent us some
presents. These things seemed to have
fixed themselves within my mind, and
caused me to have a long dream about
Wilhelm last night; and I suppose cous
in Paul s teasing me again on yesterday
brought it more vividly to my mind.
“ Now girls, if I tell you my dream
you musn’t tell the other children any.
thing about it, for they would be certain
to laugh at me.”
Both of the girls promised to keep
the matter to themselves. Thereupon
Lillian began:
“ Well, I thought it was Christmas
night, and suddenly I was awakened
from a deep sleep by seeing a pale light
shining around me, and hearing the
sound of fairy bells chiming the most
delightful music; at the same time there
was diffused through the air around me
the most delightful odors. A sweet
feeling of rest stole over me. While
lying in this half dreamy state, a little
fairy with fluttering wings and gossamer
robes, bent over me and said:
“‘Let me deck you in these royal
robes which I’ve brought for you. You
know that you are eager to visit the pal
ace of Santa Claus. Wilhelm is wait
ing to carry you there. Make haste, as
you must return ere the rosy fingers of
morn withdraws night's dark curtains
from the horizon’s verge.’
“ I passively submitted to be robed
in rich garments of purple and gold, and
adorned with a profusion of jewels.—
Taking my hand in hers, she pronoun
BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS.
ced a few strange words and I found my
self slowly rising in the air. A sleigh,
drawn by tiny reindeers, stood awaiting
me near the top of the house. Here
the fairy left me, and a most beautiful,
elegantly dressed youth—whom I found
to be Wilhelm—stepped out and bade
me be seated. He placed me by his
side and giving a musical whistle to his
steeds, away we bounded through the
air.
“I thought we suddenly entered upon
a broad road which seemed ma-adamize 1
with glittering stars. I looked towards
the North end beheld a long ladder
which seemed to reach from earth to
heaven. Upon this angels were ascend
ing and descending. A little child
stood at the foot of this and an angel
was bending down to fold him in her
arms.
“A rosy cloud soon hid this from my
view ; as it floated around us, envelop
ing us in its folds, I felt a fear come
over me and turned to my companion.
Wilhelm soothed my fears and the
cloud dispersing a few moments after
wards, he pointed to a dim speck in the
distance and told me that was the is
land upon which his father’s palace
stood. -
“ We traveled with such speed that
we soon neared it. The most delight
ful music was borne on the breeze, which
gradually increased in tone and volume.
At last we alighted on the island. I
found the ground covered with soft vel
vet-like mosses. The dense evergreens
made a twilight darkness around us.
Little fairies, that seemed but gaudy
flowers, flitted here and there, whisper
ing words of welcome to me. Birds of
many hues darted about caroling glee
ful songs. The palace, built of a rare
blue stone, appeared before me, with its
doors of pearls and window's of dia
monds. The domes reflecting the light
from the far-off cliffs, shone with an in
describable splendor; while floating
.above was the ‘ scarf of silver fire,’
which undulated and kept time to the
music, which proceeded from the large
open flower within dome.
“Good old Santa Claus and his fami
ly met us at the door and welcomed us.
They proposed to conduct me through
the palace. The floors, within the halls
were rich Mosiac work, inlaid with many
colored gems, and arranged to look like
wreaths and bouquets of flowers.
“The floors of the rooms were cov
ered with soft carpets, which smothered
all discordant sounds. I passed from
one elegant suite of rooms to another,
lost in amazement at their elegance
and beauty.
“Suddenly some merry fairies, headed
by Puck, entered the room where we
were, and commenced enacting some
whimsical plays for our amusement. In
the midst of our enjoyment Santa Claus
approached me and said :
“Come little one, it is time you were
fleeing back to your home. Aurora
will soon arise out of the ocean ; her
rosy fingers will soon be dropping the
gentle dew. If she finds you in our
island home .
“Here I awoke, frightened to think
that I might be detained there away
from my friends.”
Mary said: “It is indeed a wonder
ful dream. I think, however, that your
mind in sleep carried out those ideas
that Paul advanced while teasing you
on yesterday. You remember he spoke
of Aurora, the goddess of the morn, lat
er in the day.”
“Yes, I know the causes that led me
to dream it, but I never had a dream to
make such an impression on my mind
before.”
Carrie now said : “If you were to
say anything to pa about it, he would
say that you'd eaten too much of uncle
Russel’s good supper.”
Lillian laughed and said: “I ex
pect he and the rest of you set me a
good example.”
Written for Burke’s Weekly.
Father Time,
the realms of dark chaos
gI 'Of I was born ; .
fjßJry I lit the first beams
Os Nature’s fair morn.
ft?
I measured the distance
bA' The sun should advance,
And clipped his bright rays
With my glittering lance.
I plumed the first flight
Os sweet virgin Spring,
And stole the last hue
From her rose-tinted wing.
I wave but my wand
And summer comes forth,
In the east, in the west,
In the eh ill frozen north.
The moorland, the meadow,
The forest and field,
Their bounty of treasure
Reluctantly yield.
From the land, from the sea,
From the regions of air,
Gay pennons I gather
■ As trophies of war.
On the field of black carnage
I gather my spoil,
And I reap my reward
With the sons of the soil.
The proudest, the bravest,
The loftiest quail,
The cheek of bright beauty
Before me grows pale.
Ho ! ho ! I'm a reaper—
A reaper, you see, —
Who bows not in homage,
Frail mortal, to me ?
Airs. Alary Ware.
Columliana, Ala.
Those who take honors in Nature’s
university, who learn the laws which
govern me;’ and things and obey them,
are the really great and successful men
in this world. The great mass of man
kind are the “Poll,” who pick up just
enough to get through without much
discredit. Those who won’t learn at all
are plucked, and then can never come
up again. Nature’s pluck means exter
mination. — Prof. Huxley.
A Soft Answer Turning away Wrath. >
jgpf
jJj?fpit WRIGHT says: “I once
owned a large flock of liens,
which I generally kept shut
up. But one spring I concluded to let
them run in my yard, after I had clip
ed their wings so that they could not
fly. One day when I came home to
dinner, I learned that one of my neigh
bors had been there, full of wrath, to
let me know my hens had been in his
garden, and that he had killed several
of them, and thrown them over into my
yard.
“ Greatly enraged at this procedure,
I determined at once to be revenged,-to
sue him, or in some way get redress.
I sat down and ate my dinner as calmly
as I could; and by the time I had fin
ished my meal, I became more cool,
and thought that perhaps it was not
best to fight with my neighbor about
hens, and thereby make him my bitter,
lasting enemy. 1 concluded to try an
other way, being sure that it would do
better.
“ After dinner, I went to my neigh
bor, who was in his garden ; and,
strange to say, he was in pursuit of one
of my hens, with a club, trying to kill
it. I accosted him.; and he turned up
on me, his face inflamed with wrath,
and said :
“‘You have abused me. I will kill
all your hens if I can get at them. I
never was so abused. My garden is
ruined.’
“‘I am very sorry for it,’ said I. ‘ I
did not wish to injure you, and now see
that I have made a great mistake in let
ting out my hens. I ask your forgive
ness, and am willing to pay you six
times the damage.’
The man seemed confounded; lie
looked up to the sky—then down to the
earth—then at his neighbor—then at his
club—and then at the poor hen he had
been pursuing, and said nothing.
“ ‘ Tell me now,’ said I, ‘ what is the
damage, and I will pay you six-fold ;
and my hens shall trouble you no more.
I will leave it entirely to you to say
what I shall do ; for I cannot afford to
lose the love and good-will of my neigh
bors, and quarrel with them, for hens,
or anything else.’
“‘I am a great fool!’ said the neigh
bor. ‘ The damage is not worth talking
about; and I have more need to com
pensate you than you me, and to ask
your forgiveness than you mine.’ ”
—
Very Particular,
The following is an amusing conver
sation between Sambo and employer :
“ Where is the hoe, Sambo?”
“ Wid de rake, massa.”
“ Well, where is the rake?”
“ Wid de hoe.”
“Well, well, where are they both ?”
“ Why, both togedder, massa. You
’pears to be very ’ticular dis mornin !”