"Mr. Smith, what would you do if you were up in a balloon, and should break your head against the tail of a comet?"
"I should buy a cabbage."—"Miss Johnson, if you were dancing the heel-and-toe polka, and should fall in the middle of the ball-room, what would you do?"
"I should preserve my equilibrium."—"Mr. Roberts, if your heart were broken, what would you do?"
"Bind her over to keep the peace."—"Miss Lewis, what would you do if you were compelled to use the same glass as a beggar?"
"I should say, 'Drink to me only with thine eyes.'"—"Mr. Brown, what if you failed to make an impression?"
"I should try indelible ink."
[A CHARADE.]
BY H.
My first may grace the festive board
With rosy colors bright,
And from the pantry's spicy hoard
'Tis often brought to light.
But shared beside the mountain stream,
Or by old ocean's swell,
Where many happy lovers dream,
Its value who can tell?
My second is what you, I hope,
Will never do to me;
But lest you should, your Bible ope,
And there your fate you'll see.
But in my whole what happy hours,
What moments rare, are spent,
Kissed by the breeze to which the flowers
Their savors sweet have lent!
Through fairy-land, unknowing care,
The spirit wanders free,
While birds with music fill the air—
Oh, give my whole to me!