158 THE CHRONICLES OF A GARDEN. 



lizards, caterpillars, or glowworms safe in captivity 

 again . 



This fancy for making pets of reptiles is certainly not 

 very common, and meets with little sympathy ; so it is all 

 the pleasanter to find a poet taking the part of these 

 creatures, and drawing a moral from them too : — 



" You may love a screaming owl, 

 And if you can, the unwieldy toad 

 Tliat crawls from his secure abode 

 Withiu the mossy garden wall 

 When evening dews begin to fall. 

 Oh, mark the beauty of his eye : 

 What wonders in that circle lie ! 

 So clear, so bright, our fathers said 

 He wears a jewel in his head ! 

 And when upon some showery day, 

 Into a path or public way, 

 A frog leaps out from bordering grass. 

 Startling the timid as they pass, 

 Do you observe him, and endeavour 

 To take the intru^der into favour ; 

 Learning from him to find a reason 

 For a light heart in a dull season." 



Far as my experience goes, the pleasure of petting and 

 feeding the bees has been all I got from them ! No doubt 

 there is profit as well as pleasure to be derived from a 

 well-managed ai)iary ; but although it is generally true 



that 



" It's a' for the hinney we cherish the bee," 



I think there is much interest and amusement to be de- 

 rived from watching the little busy creatures at work, and 



