It glittered in the morning sun As beautiful at noontide hour, Like truth that ne'er grows old; What though the storms were fierce without, Once to my side a fair young child That God who lives high up above Oh, what a fitting time to teach I took the little hand in mine, Gazed in that childish face, And told how He whose watchful love Abides in every place, Could bless our school; And how not e'en a sparrow's fall, Though small they seem, could e'er escape The child-face glowed with happy smiles, And all our school." O ye! unto whose tender care Spurn not the thoughtful questionings, There place among those graceful vines "God bless our school." TO AMERICA IN 1876.-MARTIN F. TUPPER. Great and understanding nation, Mindful, though the words be weak, Lest suspicion, sneering wrongly, Five and twenty years have vanished Thanks to you, dear old and new friends, As a brother greets a brother, Still our generous feelings blend, And we look on one another Each with each as on his friend. Noble people! now returning Yes! as in that old Dutch story, You have grown both great and good; Truly, progress is your glory, Winning all that mortals could; Truly rising better, wiser, For adversities and woes, Gathering good from each adviser, War and peace, and friends and foes. Temperance, morals, courteous bearing, And religious, and sincere, Men like these are common here! God's good will, your country blessing, Since your pilgrim fathers landed (Some of mine sailed with them too), We still fight life's battles through, Of our Anglo-Saxon race Build us yet more great, more glorious- THE LITTLE HATCHET STORY: WITH OCCASIONAL QUESTIONS BY A FIVE-YEAR-OLD HEARER. And so, smiling, we went on. "Well, one day, George's father_" 66 George who?" asked Clarence. George Washington. He was a little boy, then, just like you. One day his father-” "Whose father?" demanded Clarence, with an encouraging expression of interest. George Washington's; this great man we are telling you of. One day George Washington's father gave him a little hatchet for a—” Gave who a little hatchet?" the dear child interrupted with a gleam of bewitching intelligence. Most men would have got mad, or betrayed signs of impatience, but we didn't. We know how to talk to children. So we went on: "Yes, George Washington. And his father told him-" "Told who?" "Told George." "Oh, yes, George." And we went on, just as patient and as pleasant as you could imagine. We took up the story right where the boy interrupted, for we could see he was just crazy to hear the end of it. We said: "Yes; told him he must be careful with the hatchet-" "Who must be careful?" With the hatchet, and not cut himself with it, or drop it in the cistern, or leave it out in the grass all night. So George went round cutting everything he could reach with his hatchet. And at last he came to a splendid apple-tree, his father's favorite, and cut it down and-" "Who cut it down?" George did." "Oh!" "But his father came home and saw it the first thing, and-" "Saw the hatchet?" "No, saw the apple-tree. And he said, 'Who has cut down my favorite apple-tree?'" "What apple-tree?" "George's father's. And everybody said they didn't know anything about it, and-" "Anything about what?" "The apple-tree." "Oh!" "And George came up and heard them talking about it—" "The favorite tree that George cut down." 66 George who?" "George Washington." "Oh!" "So George came up and heard them talking about it. and he-" "What did he cut it down for?" "Just to try his little hatchet." "Whose little hatchet?" Why, his own, the one his father gave him." "Gave who?" "Why, George Washington." "Oh!" "So George came up and he said, 'Father, I cannot tell & lie, I-'" "Who couldn't tell a lie?" "Why, George Washington. He said, 'Father, I cannot tell a lie. It was-"" 666 'It was I cut down your apple-tree; I did-'" "His father did?" "No, no; it was George said this." "Said he cut his father?" "No, no, no; said he cut down his apple-tree." |