A low tea-table set out for two,
A divan with cushions piled on high,
Dresden tea-cups of pink and blue,
A fat little kettle simmering nigh,
In winter a fire that cracks and roars,
In summer a window where breezes play.
What if it hails or snows or pours,
In that little spot it is always May.
A girl—of course, you will say, when one
Describes such a haven from life's mad whirl.
There must be a—wait till my song is done.
This is such an entrancing girl!
Cheeks as fresh as a summer rose,
Eyes that change like the changing sea,
Lips where a smile first comes, then goes.
And, oh! but she makes delicious tea.
So we sit and talk while the kettle sings,
And. life seems better at least to me,
The fleeting hours have golden wings,
When in that little spot I'm drinking tea.
Love? Ah, no, we are far above
Such folly. Our time we can better spend.
This world is brimming with loveless love,
But 'tis rarely enough one finds a friend.
GUY WETMORE CARRYL. Columbia Spectator.
~Another Complaint Against Cupid.~
Wherever maidens may be found
Dan Cupid's sure to wander round,
I found him once, the little fool,
Attending on a cooking-school.
The scholars only laughed and smiled,
And cried: "How sweet, how smart a child!"
He kept his wings close hid, yet I
Remembered him from days gone by,
And, stepping up, I whispered this:
"My boy, compound for me a kiss."
His face grew thoughtful, then the rogue
Lisped out: "Well, this is most in vogue:
An acorn-cup of sugar first,
Sprinkle quite well with bubbles burst,
Then add a pinch of down that lies
All over June's brown butterflies.
Mix well, and take, to stir it up,
The stem of one long buttercup.
But, sir, you ne'er can taste a mite
Until I add the appetite."
Whereat, ere I could turn to start,
I saw—I felt the flashing dart.
FREDERIC LAWRENCE KNOWLES. Olla Podrida.
~Sub-Mistletoe.~
We two stood near
The chandelier,
With mistletoe upon it.
A lovely girl,
My head awhirl,
Her wrap—I'll help her don it.
A button caught;
I surely ought
To help, when she'd begun it.
A pause, a hush,
A kiss, a blush,
And now, by Jove, I've done it!