Out where the golden-rod
Bends on its stalk,
And the wild roses
Gladden our walk;
Where amid bushes
Hidden but heard,
Joyous and grateful
Sings many a bird.
Out where the waters,
Merry and sweet,
Ripple and tinkle
Close by your feet;
Where all things happy,
Fragrant, and fair,
In the bright morning
Welcome you there!
Mathias Barb.
A JOURNEY TO CALIFORNIA.
Two little girls, Annette and Lisette, went to California with their parents in 1849. There was no Pacific Railroad at that time; and the journey across the plains was a long and a hard one.
Annette and Lisette rode in the great wagon drawn by oxen. They thought that fine fun. At night they slept in a tent. On pleasant days they walked with their mamma for miles over the green prairies, plucking wild-flowers as they went along.
They saw great numbers of the funny little prairie-dogs sitting in the doors of their cunning houses; sometimes they caught sight of an antelope; and they often passed great herds of shaggy buffaloes.