The rea-son of his haste was that his lit-tle daugh-ter Bess is quite ill. He had to go to sea this morn-ing, for he is a poor man, and must work ev-er-y day, but when he left Bess was in a fe-ver. All day long he has been ve-ry anx-ious. But now good news is wait-ing him. At four o'clock the fe-ver left her, and she is much bet-ter, and is wait-ing for her pa-pa to come in. How glad he will be! But he can-not stop long now, on-ly just to give her a kiss, for the boat must be ta-ken care of, and the fish that he has caught must be sent to mar-ket; so back he will go, but he will work now with a light-er heart, for his fear is gone.
THE FISHING BOAT NANCY.
THE LITTLE RILL.
Drop by drop the lit-tle rill
Feeds the lim-pid stream be-low,
Gleam-ing, spark-ling down the hill,
Till it joins the riv-er's flow.
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Drop by drop the whole night long;
Drop by drop the long night through,
Sing-ing low and soft its song;
Leaps the rill, in meas-ure true.
———
Drop by drop like gems of light,
Danc-ing where the sun-beams play,
Grows the stream-let clear and bright,
Where the sweet ferns line the way.
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Like a mol-ten sil-ver tide
Led by fai-ries, here and there;
Now by rug-ged moun-tain side;
Now by pas-ture green and fair.
THE LITTLE RILL.