KATE SANBORN.

[*Metre adapted to the peculiar feet of this bird.]

SPRING IN WINTER

_A Memory of "Breezy Meadows"_

'Twas winter--and bleakly and bitterly came
The winds o'er the meads you so breezily name;
And what tho' the sun in the heavens was bright,
'Twas lacking in heat altho' lavish in light.
And cold were the guests who drew up to your door,
But lo, when they entered 'twas winter no more!

Without, it might freeze, and without, it might storm,
Within, there was welcome all glowing and warm.
And oh, but the warmth in the hostess's eyes
Made up for the lack of that same in the skies!
And fain is the poet such magic to sing:
Without, it was winter--within, it was spring!

Yea, spring--for the charm of the house and its cheer
Awoke in us dreams of the youth of the year;
And safe in your graciousness folded and furled,
How far seemed the cold and the care of the world!
So strong was the spell that your magic could fling,
We _knew_ it was winter--we _felt_ it was spring!

Yea, spring--in the glow of your hearth and your board
The springtime for us was revived and restored,
And everyone blossomed, from hostess to guest,
In story and sentiment, wisdom and jest;
And even the bard like a robin must sing--
And, sure, after that, who could doubt it was spring!

DENIS A. McCARTHY.

_New Year's Day_, 1909.

Mr. McCarthy is associate editor of _The Sacred Heart_, Boston, and a
most popular poet and lecturer.

His dear little book, _Voices from Erin_, adorned with the Irish harp
and the American shield fastened together by a series of true-love
knots, is dedicated "To all who in their love for the new land have
not forgotten the old." There is one of these poems which is always
called for whenever the author attends any public function where
recitations are in order, and I do not wonder at its popularity, for
it has the genuine Irish lilt and fascination:

"Ah, sweet is Tipperary in the spring time of the year,
When the hawthorn's whiter than the snow,
When the feathered folk assemble and the air is all a-tremble
With their singing and the