Part 3 (1/2)

Blossy, a dark-eyed, happy girl, Whom fourteen years have seen, Blooming in gentle maidenhood, As fair as e'er was seen.

And then a darling child of four, Like a fair beam of light, The household flower, who filled the home With perfume and delight.

Nice Annie, a fair, dimpled girl, Who with untiring care Strove in the home's machinery To take her loving share.

Mary, the maid, with active zeal And ever thoughtful heart.

With conscientious care fulfilled Her well-directed part.

Well skilled in culinary lore, Her ”graham gems” kept time With all the other household gems Which in rare grace combine.

Accept these simple words of love, Dear friends, as we now part, And guard kind thoughts of me, I pray, Within the household heart.

MRS. LANGTRY AS MISS HARDCASTLE IN ”SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER.”

Like a radiant gleam of suns.h.i.+ne She glanced upon the sight, A being rare and lovely, With wit and beauty bright.

Moulded and fas.h.i.+oned finely, With tall, lithe, rounded form, And graceful mien and manner, Her beauty to adorn.

Without one graceless effort, And perfected by art, She gave a faithful rendering Of her adopted part.

Her every turn and movement Was poetry and grace, Which lent a sweet enchantment To her expressive face.

Supported splendidly by all The other artists there, Who well deserve with her, their star, The public praise to share.

Would that we had more artists As natural as she, Then might the stage a mirror Of true life prove to be.

THE SHAKER GIRL

I met a pleasant, thoughtful girl, Fresh from a homely band Of Shaker brethren who fare well In this far Western land.

I talked to her of earthly love, She answered with a sigh; I sought to know the hidden truth, And asked the reason why She would prefer a Shaker's life, Pleasant though it might be, To working in the free, grand world, Consistently and free, With household duties wooing her, And babies on her knee?

She blushed a trifle, and looked shy, Confessed the truth was plain, That if ”some one” should ever come And seek her love again, She would, with all her loving heart, Accept his profferred hand, And leave her Shaker friends with him, For any clime or land; But that she doubted that the love He once professed was o'er, And that she feared that it for her Was quenched for evermore; And so she guessed she'd best return To her calm Shaker home, And curb the feelings of her heart, And never seek to roam.

O Shaker maiden, pause, I pray, Take further earnest thought, Nor stay the longings of your heart, With heaven-born nature fraught Duties there are on every side, Awaiting willing hands, All unrestricted, unconfined By any creeds or lands.

Sweet ties of home are holier far, Spontaneous acts more true, Than any Shaker work ordained For man to struggle through.