at each one plays,
A flickering flame, and life is past.

And thou wert clothed in robe of snow,
A crimson veil around thy head,
And now thou liest, charred and dead,
Erstwhile with ruddy fire aglow.

I held thee in a fond embrace
To guard thee from the whistling wind;
And not another can I find
To comfort me and take thy place.

And though I lay aside my weeds,
Yet like a widow I bemoan;
Nor all the wealth the Indies own,
Could satisfy my present needs.

Thy spark has vanished from my sight,
Useless cigar, tobacco, pipe;
Of perfect misery the type,
A man without another light.

* * * * *

EMPLOYMENT FOR THE UNEMPLOYED.--On Tuesday, in last week, the Unemployed
had their hands full, when at Temple Avenue they unsuccessfully attempted
to overcome the effective resistance of the Police. The Unemployed might
have been better employed.

* * * * *

THE STAR OF HOPE.

(_A New Naval Ode._)

[Illustration]

[The Royal Commission on Telegraphic Communication between Lighthouses
and Lightships and the Shore, have issued their first report
recommending immediate action in the more urgent cases. Dealing with
the same subject, on November 28, 1891, _Mr. Punch_ said:--

"_Punch_ pictures with prophetic pen, a brighter, cheerier page,
Which _must be turned_, and speedily."--_See "The Sweet Little
Cherub that Sits up Aloft_," (_Modern Version as it Must Be_) Vol.
ci., p. 254.

_Mr. Punch_ is mightily pleased that his injunction has been obeyed,
and that his prophecy is in process of fulfilment.]

I.

Ye Mariners of England,
Shipwrecked in our home seas,
How this will calm your wives' wild fears,
And give your stout hearts ease!
Hope's blue eyes gleam above the main,
Her lifted light will glow,
And sweep o'er the deep,
When the stormy winds do blow;
When the tempest rages loud and long,
And the stormy winds do blow.

II.

The spirit comfort gathers,
From schemes designed to save
Brave fellows, who have dared the deep,
Near home to find a grave.
See how o'er rock and quicksand fell,
The Electric ray doth glow,
And sweep o'er the deep,
While the stormy winds do blow;
While the tempest rages loud and long,
And the stormy winds do blow!

III.

BRITANNIA needs as bulwarks
Light