e hills of joy!
And whether the paths are easy
And whether the roads are long,
There is rapture still
For the ache and ill,
As we wander the ways with song!

Yes, life, my dear, is a varied journey
And most of its ways are queer,
But those who laugh as they wander onward
Will find that it holds good cheer;
And whether we laugh or languish
And whether we sigh or sing,
I am sure that still
There is good for ill
And the flash of an angel wing!

"When the Sad Time Ends."

What's the use to beckon trouble
As you journey down the road?
Life will find its burdens double
If it cherishes the load!
Keep a smile and be contented
With the favors fortune sends,
And the joys will romp around you
Till the sad time ends.

What's the use to keep complaining
At the gifts the good days bring?
For each tear that flows from heart-ache
There's a hundred laughs that sing;
For the day that's dark and gloomy,
God a hundred bright days lends,
And his sunshine will be ceaseless
When the sad time ends.

What's the use to go to growling
When the comrades that you knew
Turn their backs on all your kindness
And unsheathe their knives for you?
For the scamp that proves a traitor,
You will find a hundred friends,
And their golden hearts ne'er waver
Till the sad time ends.

What's the use to welcome trouble?
Chase it from the paths you go!
There is always plenty of it
If you cherish every woe.
Keep your life alight with gladness
Till a song each day attends;
You will reach the land of sunshine
When the sad time ends.

Sooner Sayings.

The land office is the grave-yard of many a happy home.

In driving a settlement stake, one man is company and two's a crowd.

The ox-team makes a swift run when its owner understands how to drive
them at the land-office window.

Snake Bit.

"Did you have any accidents on the fishing trip?"

"No; none to speak of?"

"Any one snake bit?"

"Yes, but that's nothing. Bill Jones got snake-bit every time his
clothes rubbed him, and hollered for whiskey; and in order to save any,
we had to undress Bill and put him under guard for the general
welfare."

The Books.

I.

Close the book and put it by!
What it held of song and sigh,
What it held of smile and