Where hermits lurk below,
And restless shrimps in coat of mail
Flash swiftly to and fro.

A noon-day hush is over all,
Unbroken by a sound;
Till ... sudden peals of baby mirth
Wake all the echoes round.

'Tis here the children love to come,
On the bright sand to lie,
Or in the gleaming water hold
Their mimic revelry.

Oh, happy hearts! those gladsome day
Upon the golden shore
Will linger on in memory still,
A joy for evermore.

D. B. MCKEAN.

LITTLE MARGARET'S KITCHEN, AND WHAT SHE DID IN IT.--VII.

_By PHILLIS BROWNE, Author of "A Year's Cookery," "What Girls can Do,"
&c._

"I should like my little pupils to learn to roast meat to-day," said
Mrs. Herbert, as she entered the kitchen where the children were waiting
for her.

"You will let it be beef, though, won't you?" said Margaret. "If we have
to cook meat we might as well cook the best kind of meat there is."

"You consider beef the best kind of meat then, do you?" said Mrs.
Herbert.

"Oh, yes! I should think every one does. Father says there is nothing
like the roast beef of old England."

"English people generally like roast beef, I know," said Mrs. Herbert.
"Indeed, they have been so accustomed to take pains with it, that now it
is often said that English cooks roast well, if they do nothing else
well."

"It seems to me that there is nothing to do in roasting meat," said
Margaret. "The fire does all the work; we put the meat down to the fire,
and in a little time we take it up, and it is done."

"But the right kind of fire for roasting is not always made up in any
kitchen," said Mrs. Herbert. "The first thing which the cook who intends
to roast has to see after is the fire; and she ought to make it ready
quite an hour before she puts the meat down."

"Oh dear, what a trouble!" said Margaret.

"Please, ma'am, I know how to make up a fire for roasting," said Mary.
"I have done it many a time for my aunt."

"Then tell us what you know about it," said Mrs. Herbert.

"The fire must be a good size, larger than the meat which is to be
roasted before it. The cinders and dust must be cleared thoroughly away
from the bottom of the range, the live hot coals must be pushed to the
front, and the space at the back which is made empty must be filled up
with knobbly pieces of coal packed closely together, though not so
closely that the air cannot get through. The hearth must be swept up
tidily, and