He steadied himself to know the cause,
And eyed it long with inquiring gaze,
Wondering much what the deuce it was
That glitter'd and sparkled with such a blaze.
Then stooping down, with a forward dip
Which came near sending him heels o'erhead,
At the glittering wonder he made a grip—
But clutch'd a handful of mud instead.
Again he tries; but another lurch,
To strive against which was all in vain,
Sent him sprawling out in the mud and slush,
And the prize eluded his grasp again.
"The third time's lucky; I'll make it sure,"
Said Jonathan, rising, and turning round.
"'Tis a diamond as large as the Koh-i-noor,
And far (hic) more costly, I'll be bound."
Again he tries; hurrah! success
Has crown'd his untiring efforts at last!
Thus Victory always will Industry bless,
And the prize is more precious for dangers pass'd.
But the flowers of Hope which we fondest nurse
First wither, and bleaker leave the soul;
He dashes it down with a bitter curse—
'Twas only a piece of a broken bowl!
REMARKABLE TENACITY OF LIFE.—22.
A few evenings since, in the "private crib" of one of our exchanges, there was a learned dissertation, subject, "Bed-bugs, and their Remarkable Tenacity of Life." One asserted of his own knowledge that they could be boiled, and then come to life. Some had soaked them for hours in turpentine without any fatal consequences. Old Hanks, who had been listening as an outsider, here gave in his experience in corroboration of the facts. Says he, "Some years ago I took a bed-bug to an iron-foundry, and dropping it into a ladle where the melted iron was, had it run into a skillet. Well, my old woman used that skillet pretty constant for the last six years, and here the other day it broke all to smash; and what do you think, gentlemen, that 'ere insect just walked out of his hole, where he'd been layin' like a frog in a rock, and made tracks for his old roost upstairs! But," added he, by way of parenthesis, "he looked mighty pale."
SAM'S SOUL.—23.
"Sam," said an interesting young mother to her youngest hopeful, "do you know what the difference is between the body and soul? The soul, my child, is what you love with; the body carries you about. This is your body," touching the little fellow's shoulders and arms, "but there is something deeper in—you can feel it now; what is that?" "Oh, I know," said Sam, with a flash of intelligence in his eyes, "that's my flannel shirt!"