ere comes on whose cheek would flush
But to have her garment brush
'Gainst the girl whose fingers thin
Wove the weary 'broidery in,
Bending backward from her toil,
Lest her tears the silk might soil,
And in midnight's chill and murk,
Stitched her life into the work.
Shaping from her bitter thought,
Heart's-ease and forget-me-not,
Satirizing her despair
With the emblems woven there,
Little doth the wearer heed
Of the heart-break in the blede;
A hyena by her side
Skulks, down-looking--it is Pride.

J. R. Lowell

Vain Lizzie

It surely is not good to see,
Lizzie so full of vanity,
So fond of dress and show.
For when a fine new frock she wears,
She gives herself most silly airs,
Wherever she may go.

She thinks herself a charming girl;
But when folks see her twist and twirl,
They stop in every street,
They smile, or fairly laugh outright,
And say: "She's really quite a sight,
Was ever such conceit?"

[Illustration: Vain Lizzie.]

[Page 64--Naughtiness Land]

[Illustration: Nelly giving Ned her Apple.]

Greedy Ned

Mamma gave our Nelly an apple,
So round, and big, and red;
It seemed, beside dainty wee Nelly,
To be almost as large as her head.

Beside her young Neddie was standing--
And Neddie loves apples, too,
"Ah! Nelly!" said Neddie, "give brother
A bite of your apple--ah! do!"

Dear Nelly held out the big apple;
Ned opened his mouth very wide--
So wide, that the startled red apple
Could almost have gone inside!

And oh! what a bite he gave it!
The apple looked small, I declare,
When Ned gave it back to his sister,
Leaving that big bite there.

Poor Nelly looked frightened a moment,
Then a thought made her face grow bright;
"Here, Ned, you can take the apple--
_I'd rather have the bite!_"

Eva L. Carson, In "St. Nicholas"

The Biggest Piece Of Pie

Once, when I was a little boy,
I sat me down to cry,
Because my little brother had
The biggest piece of pie.

They said I was a naughty boy,
But I have since seen men
Behave themselves as foolishly
As I behaved then.

For we are often thankless for
Rich blessings when we sigh,
To think some lucky neighbour has
A "bigger piece" of pie.

The Greedy, Impatient Girl

"Oh! I am so hungry,
I'm sure I c