[THE DROWNING DUCKS.]

Amongst the sights that Mrs. Bond

Enjoyed yet grieved at more than others,

Were little ducklings in a pond,

Swimming about beside their mothers—

Small things like living water-lilies,

But yellow as the daffo-dillies.

"It's very hard," she used to moan,

"That other people have their ducklings

To grace their waters—mine alone