THE SOLDIER'S RETURN.

OW sweet it was to breathe | And guessed some infant hand had placed it

And take possession of my And prized its hue, so exquisite, so rare.
father's chair!
Feelings on feelings mingling doubling rose;
Beneath my elbow, on the My heart felt everything but calm repose;
I could not reckon minutes, hours nor years,

Appeared the rough initials But rose at once and bursted into tears,

Then, like a fool, confused, sat down again

Cut forty years before. The And thought upon the past with shame and

Thus grumbled in the morning, and grumbled The sun was high and summer sounds were teeming in the air

late at eve, The good wife as she bustled with pot and The clank of scythes, the cricket's whir and

tray and sieve;

swelling wood-notes rare

But Brier-Rose she laughed, and she cocked From field and copse and meadow; and her dainty head;

through the open door

"Why, I shall marry, mother dear," full Sweet, fragrant whiffs of new-mown hay the merrily she said.

"You marry, saucy Brier-Rose! The man he is not found

idle breezes bore.

Then Brier-Rose grew pensive, like a bird of thoughtful mien,

To marry such a worthless wench, these Whose little life has problems among the seven leagues around." branches green.

But Brier-Rose she laughed, and she trilled She heard the river brawling where the tide a merry lay: was swift and strong, "Perhaps he'll come, my mother dear, from She heard the summer singing its strange eight leagues away. alluring song,

The good wife with a "Humph!" and a sigh And out she skipped the meadows o'er and forsook the battle,

gazed into the sky;

And flung her pots and pails about with much Her heart o'erbrimmed with gladness-she

vindictive rattle :

scarce herself knew why

And to a merry tune she hummed, "Oh, | And while they wondered came the spring
Heaven only knows
a-dancing o'er the hills;
Whatever will become of the naughty Brier- Her breath was warmer than of yore, and

Rose."

Whene'er a thrifty matron this idle maid espied,

She shook her head in warning, and scarce

her wrath could hide;

all the mountain-rills

With their tinkling and their rippling and their rushing filled the air,

And the misty sounds of water forth-welling everywhere.

For girls were made for housewives, for spin- And in the valley's depth, like a lusty beast ning-wheel and loom, And not to drink the sunshine and wild- The river leaped and roared aloud and tossed

of prey,

its mane of spray;

Then hushed again its voice to a softly

plashing croon

As dark it rolled beneath the sun and white beneath the moon.

But Brier-Rose, as was her wont, she cocked It was a merry sight to see the lumber as it

"But I can sing a pretty song," full merrily Adown the tawny eddies that hissed and

she said.

And oft the young lads shouted, when they saw the maid at play,

"Ho, good-for-nothing Brier-Rose! how do you do to-day?"

seethed and swirled,

Now shooting through the rapids and with a reeling swing

Into the foam-crests diving like an animated thing.

a steep incline

Then she shook her tiny fist; to her cheeks But in the narrows of the rocks, where o'er the color flew : "However much you coax me, I'll never The waters plunged and wreathed in foam dance with you.' the dark boughs of the pine, The lads kept watch with shout and song, and sent each straggling beam

PART II.

Thus flew the years light-winged over Brier- A-spinning down the rapids, lest it should

Rose's head,

Till she was twenty summers old and yet re

mained unwed.

lock the stream.

PART III.

voices in the night,

And all the parish wondered: "The Lord And yet-methinks I hear it now-wild almighty knows

Whatever will become of that naughty Brier- A rush of feet, a dog's harsh bark, a torch's flaring light,

Rose."

And wandering gust of dampness, and 'round | But as with trembling hands and with fainting hearts we stood,

us, far and nigh,

A throbbing boom of water like a pulse-beat We spied a little curly head emerging from in the sky.

The dawn just pierced the pallid east with spears of gold and red

As we with boat-hooks in our hands toward the narrows sped;

the wood;

We heard a little snatch of a merry little

song,

And saw the dainty Brier-Rose come dancing through the throng.

And terror smote us, for we heard the mighty An angry murmur rose from the people round about.

tree-tops sway, And thunder as of chariots, and hissing" Fling her into the river!" we heard the

showers of spray.

"Now, lads," the sheriff shouted, "you are strong, like Norway's rock:

A hundred crowns I give to him who breaks the lumber-lock!

matrons shout;

"Chase her away, the silly thing! for God
himself scarce knows

Why ever he created that worthless Brier-
Rose."

For if another hour go by, the angry waters' Sweet Brier-Rose she heard their cries; a spoil little pensive smile Our homes will be, and fields, and our weary Across her fair face flitted that might a stone years of toil."

We looked each at the other; each hoped his neighbor would

Brave death and danger for his home, as valiant Norsemen should;

beguile,

And then she gave her pretty head a roguish

little cock;

"Hand me a boat-hook, lads," she said: "I think I'll break the lock."

But at our feet the brawling tide expanded Derisive shouts of laughter broke from throats like a lake,

of young and old:

And whirling beams came shooting on and "Ho, good-for-nothing Brier-Rose! your made the firm rock quake.

"Two hundred crowns !" the sheriff cried,

and breathless stood the crowd; "Two hundred crowns, my bonny lads!" in anxious tones and loud.

But not a man came forward, and no one

spoke or stirred,

tongue was ever bold;"

And mockingly a boat-hook into her hands
was flung,

When, lo! into the river's midst with daring
leaps she
sprung.

We saw her dimly through a mist of dense and blinding spray;

And nothing save the thunder of the cataract From beam to beam she skipped like a wa

was heard.

ter-sprite at play,

THE CHILDREN.

And now and then faint gleams we caught

of color through the mist

A crimson waist, a golden head, a little dainty WHEN the lessons and tasks are all

wrist.

In terror pressed the people to the margin of the hill;

A hundred breaths were bated, a hundred

hearts stood still,

For, hark! from out the rapids came a strange and creaking sound,

And then a crash of thunder which shook the very ground.

ended,

And the school for the day is dismissed, And the little ones gather around me

To bid me "Good-night" and be kissed,
Oh, the little white arms that encircle

My neck in a tender embrace!
Oh, the smiles that are halos of heaven,
Shedding sunshine of love on my face!

And when they are gone I sit dreaming
Of my childhood, too lovely to last-

The waters hurled the lumber mass down Of love that my heart will remember

o'er the rocky steep:

When it wakes to the pulse of the past,

We heard a muffled rumbling and a rolling in Ere the world and its wickedness made me the deep; A partner of sorrow and sin, We saw a tiny form which the torrent swiftly When the glory of God was about me bore

And flung into the wild abyss, where it was

seen no more.

And the glory of gladness within.

Oh, my heart grows weak as a woman's,
And the fountains of feeling will flow,

Ah, little naughty Brier-Rose, thou couldst When I think of paths steep and stony nor weave nor spin, Where the feet of the dear ones must go, Yet thou couldst do a nobler deed than all Of the mountains of sin hanging o'er them, thy mocking kin; Of the tempests of fate blowing wild. For thou hadst courage e'en to die, and by Oh, there is nothing on earth half so holy

thy death to save

As the innocent heart of a child.

They are idols of hearts and of households;
They are angels of God in disguise;

His sunlight still sleeps in their tresses,

His glory still beams in their eyes.

Oh, those truants from home and from heaven!

They have made me more manly and mild,

And I know how Jesus could liken

The kingdom of God to a child.