ove without measure,
And sunshine after rain,
And in the night a star.

The years have come and gone,
And one hath brought me sorrow;
Yet I shall sing to ease my pain
For the hours I must stay.
They are passing one by one,
And I wait with hope the morrow;
But indeed I am not fain
Of a long, long day.

It is well for a little child
Whose heart is blithe and merry
To find too short its golden day--
Long morn and afternoon.
So many flowers grow wild,
And many a fruit and berry:
Long day, too short for work and play,--
The night comes too soon.

It was well for that little child;
But its day is gone forever,
And a wounded heart will ache
In the sunlight gold and gay.
Oh, the night is cool and mild
To all things that smart with fever!
The older heart had time to break
In the little child's long day.

KATHARINE TYNAN, in _Merry England_.

* * * * *

WHEN little Willie L. first heard the braying of a mule in the South, he
was greatly frightened; but, after thinking a minute, he smiled at his
fear, saying, "Mamma, just hear that poor horse with the
whooping-cough!"

A LITTLE grammar is a dangerous thing: "Johnny, be a good boy, and I
will take you to the circus next year."--"Take me now, pa; the circus is
in the present tents."

THE CHRISTMAS TURKEY.

Grandfather Patrick lived a long time ago; in the days when all the
grandfathers wore white wigs with little tails sticking out behind.

One day he went into the back yard where an old Turkey Gobbler lived,
and said to him:

"Mr. Turkey Gobbler: Next week comes Christmas and I want you to come
into the house with me, and help us have a good time. You are such a
fine, fat fowl, I am sure you will be just the one we want."

[Illustration]

Mr. Turkey Gobbler was a vain bird, and when he heard Grandfather
Patrick say this, he spread out his tail, stuck up his feathers, and
stretched his wings down to the ground. Then he said: "Yes, I know I am
a fine fowl, and I want to get away from this low, mean yard, into the
grand house, among grand people, where I think I belong."

"And so you shall," said Grandfather Patrick. "You shall leave this cold
yard and come in to the stove where it is warm. You shall come to the
table with us all on Christmas Day. You shall be at the head of t