Off on de leetle back room--ba oui--
Helpin' de ole folk mak' dem frisky,
Very pleasan' for dem, but not for me--

Oh! it mak' me mad, an' I 'm tire tryin'
To show how I feel, an' it 's hard to tell--
So I 'll geev' it up, for dere 's no good cryin';
'Sides w'at is de use of a two-mile smell?

Non!--I don't go dere if dey all invite me,
Or de worl' itse'f--she come to an' en'.
De Bishop hese'f, ba Gosh! can write me,
But Jo-seph Belair, he 's no more ma frien'

Can't fin' me dere if de sky come down, sir,
I rader ma girl she would never dance--
But far away, off on de Yankee town, sir,
I 'll tak' dem w'ere mebbe dey have a chance.

An' reever an' cove, dough I 'll not forget dem,
An' voyageurs too, an' Joe Belair,
Can do w'at dey lak, an' me--I 'll let dem
Go w'ere dey want to, for I don't care.

[Illustration: Border]

A Rainy Day in Camp

A rainy day in camp! how you draw the blankets closer,
As the big drops patter, patter on the shingles overhead,
How you shudder when recalling your wife's "You ought to know, sir,
That it 's dangerous and improper to smoke a pipe in bed."

A rainy day in camp! is it possible to find better?
Tho' the lake is like a caldron, and aloft the thunder rolls;
Yet the old canoe is safely on the shore where you can let her
Stay as long as Jupiter Pluvius in the clouds is punching holes.

A rainy day in camp! and the latest publication
That the mice have left unnibbled, tells you all about "Eclipse,"
How the Derby fell before him, how he beat equine creation,
But the story yields to slumber with the pipe between your lips.

Wake again and turn the pages, where they speak of Lester Wallack
And the heroes of the buskin over thirty years ago--
Then in case the damp surroundings cause an inconvenient colic,
What 's the matter with the treatment neutralizing H(sub 2)O?

A rainy day in camp! what an interesting collection,
In this magazine so ancient, of items small and great--
The History of the Negro, illustrating every section,
So different from the present White House Colored Fashion Plate!

A rainy day in camp! and you wonder how the C. P.
And the G. T. competition will affect the Golden West--
But these problematic matters only tend to make you sleepy,
And again beneath the blankets, like a babe you sink to rest.

Cometh now the giant m