BY M. R. COLQUITT.
Oh, mamma, I've heard such charming news
From the Bobolink down in the lane;
He knows many beautiful stories,
And promised to meet me again.
He told me about this rich Golden-Rod,
And whence came its glowing hue;
And I'm sure the bright little gossip
Wouldn't care if I should tell you.
He says when dear little Titania
Was proclaimed the fairies' Queen,
There was such a splendid banquet
As never before was seen,
And Titania's gorgeous costly robe,
All puffed with fold on fold,
Was made of a sunset tissue
Of shining dazzling gold.
The Knight of the Topaz Helmet
Was chosen to dance with her,
And he tore her beautiful court train
With the point of his diamond spur.
The wonderful exquisite fragment
Fluttered about in the breeze,
Now lighting the spears of the bending grass,
Now floating among the trees,
Till 'twas caught by the old head gardener,
Who gazed at it long, and said;
"This, fugitive flying sunbeam
Has put something new in my head,
"And our royal lady's accident
Has strangely given a hint,
And furnished me just what I longed for—
An idea of shape, and a tint
"For the flower that must be ready,
As soon as the dancing is done,
To present to our lovely sovereign
In token of fealty won.
"I'll take its form from the flashing plume
Of the Knight who threw in my way
This fleecy fluttering fragment,
So delicate, dainty, and gay.
"And if she accepts the token,
And prints with her gracious hand
The mystical sign upon it
That shows it from Fairy-land,
"I'll blow its seed to the outer world,
And scatter them over the sod,
And christen my feathery favorite
Queen Titania's Golden-Rod."
THE CRUISE OF THE CANOE CLUB.[1]
BY W. L. ALDEN,
Author of "The Moral Pirates," "The Cruise of the 'Ghost,'" etc., etc.
Chapter VIII.
There is no place more unfit for a sudden and unexpected bath than the lock of a canal. The sides and the gates are perpendicular and smooth, and present nothing to which a person in the water can cling. Charley had no difficulty in supporting himself by throwing one arm over the stern of Harry's canoe, but had he been alone in the lock he would have been in a very unpleasant position.
As soon as the gates were opened the boys paddled out of the lock, and went ashore to devise a plan for raising the sunken canoe. Of course it was necessary that some one should dive and bring up the painter, so that the canoe could be dragged out of the lock; but as canal-boats were constantly passing, it was a full hour before any attempt at diving could be made. There were half a dozen small French boys playing near the lock, and Charley, who was by no means anxious to do any unnecessary diving, hired them to get the canoe ashore, which they managed to do easily. It was then found that nearly everything except the spars had floated out of her, and the rest of the morning was spent in searching for the missing articles in the muddy bottom of the canal. Most of them were recovered, but Charley's spare clothes, which were in an India-rubber bag, could not be found.
This was the second time that the unfortunate Midnight had foundered, and Charley was thoroughly convinced of the necessity of providing some means of keeping her afloat in case of capsizing. It was impossible for him to put water-tight compartments in her, such as the Sunshine and the Dawn possessed, but he resolved to buy a dozen beef bladders at the next town, and after blowing them up, to pack them in the bow and stern of his canoe. Tom, whose "Rice Lake" canoe was also without water-tight compartments, agreed to adopt Charley's plan, and thus avoid running the risk of an accident that might result in the loss of the canoe and cargo.