MICKEY MCGEE.
"An' sure 'tis mesilf is the fortunate b'y
As Christmas is comin' for you an' for me;
It's thruly a big share o' blessin's have I
At this blessed season," said Mickey McGee.
"My shtockin' I hung on the floor when 'twas night,
An' thin was ashlape like a log, in a minute.
An' whin I awoke wid the morn all alight,
What would ye be guessin' was soon found widin it?
"The liveliest feet for a shkip or a run
To carry a heart that's as light as a feather,
Along wid an eye for the beam o' the sun,
A share in the light an' the wind an' the weather.
"A share in the gladness that comes wid the day,
The peace an' good-will that's for you and for me.
So over the land an' far over the say
To all merry Christmas," said Mickey McGee.
Sydney Dayre.
Prince Bismarck, one of the greatest of men, grinding a hand-organ. This sounds a little absurd, and yet he did grind an organ, and in the royal palace at Berlin.
It seems one day considerable noise issued from an apartment used by the young princes. Bismarck, who was passing by, put his head within the door and found the young princes dancing and shouting to the tunes of a barrel-organ played by the Crown Prince. The moment they saw him they invited him to have some fun too. Bismarck declined, but agreed to play the organ if the Crown Prince would dance with the rest. The Crown Prince readily gave up the organ and joined the dancers.
Right merrily went the fun, and right lively Bismarck ground away, when into the midst of the shouting, laughing, dancing group stalked the Kaiser. A smile crept over his face when he saw that great statesman, Bismarck, a man of iron, grinding away on a barrel-organ, and after greeting his sons, he turned to him in mock displeasure, and remarked:
"You are beginning in good time to make the heir apparent dance to your music. It seems that this is about the fourth generation that has done so."
THE SEA-SHELL.
I brought a shell back from the sea;
I keep it in my room with me,
And when the waves I wish to hear
I hold the sea-shell to my ear.