204 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



April 



§0ulljs' ^cpjirtmcnt. 



OUR DARLING. 



Bounding like a foot-ball, 



Kicking at the door; 

 Fallinsr from the table top, 



Sprawling on the floor ; 

 Stnaiiliiiig cups and saucers, 



Splitting dolly's head; 

 Putting little pussy cat 



Into baby's bod. 

 Building shops and houses, 



Spoiling father's hat, 

 Hiding motlnT's precious keys 



Underueatli the mat ; 

 Jumping on the fender. 



Poking at the fire. 

 Dancing on his little legs — 



Legs that never tire — 

 Makilig mother's heart leap 



Fifty times a day; 

 Aping everything we do. 



Every word we say. 

 Shouliiig, laughing, tumbling, 



Koaring with a will. 

 Anywhere and everywhere, 



Never, never still. 

 Present — bringing sunshine; 



Absent — leaving night ; 

 That's our precious darling. 



That's our heart's delight. 



THE MOCKJNG BIRD. 



This Puck of the woodland wilds belongs 

 exclusively to the South. He is brave, so- 

 ciable and useful. He is a game-looking bird 

 of quiet, gray color, with nothing about his 

 plumage to separate him from the rough cov- 

 erings of bark, and the pendant moss that 

 hangs in such weird grandeur from the limbs 

 of decaying trees. 



Over the summer-house of the Southern 

 garden, though occupied by visitors, the 

 mocking-bird will perch, and curiously peer 

 down on his htnnan companions, as if he 

 would divine their thoughts. He will sympa- 

 thize with the sounds of human voices, and en- 

 joys the conversation and the laughter and 

 wrangling of children. 



Under such circumstances, he will dash from 

 limb to limb as if crazed with excitement, oc- 

 casionally giving vent to his spirit in carols 

 that are full of genius and heavenly melody ; 

 or, perhaps, inspired with some heroic idea, 

 he will crowd into rapid measures the impo- 



tent resentment of the chicken hawk and the 

 screams of the bald eagle. 



And when evening sets in, and the moon 

 rises over the charms of a Southern garden — 

 when the night is warm, and the lettuce is up, 

 and the door is open to catch a passing breath 

 of air — when the flowers have gone to sleep, 

 leaving their fragrance to literally load the 

 air — when nature is half exhausted under this 

 semi-tropical climate ; the mocking-bird, perch- 

 ed upon some dead Umb that protrudes be- 

 yond the rich foliage, will pour out his won- 

 derful overture of sweet notes, inspiring all 

 living things with pleasure and admiration. — 

 Appleton\s Journal. 



A GOOD OLD BLANKET. 



One of the gallant naval actions during the 

 war of iyi2 was betweeia the Enterprise and 

 Boxer, a Yankee and a British ship, off the 

 northern coast of New England. A lady 

 sends an account to a Portland paper of some 

 mementos of captured British vessels, among 

 which is an old ''Iving George" blanket that 

 don't seem to know how to wear out : 



The Boxer was sold by government, and 

 purchased by my father and uncle ; but wheth- 

 er she was fitted for sea by them, or broken 

 up, I do not now recollect. Among her relics 

 I have in my possession a small cannon and 

 cartridge-box, a chain-shot and a tAvo-cpiart 

 bottle (the last marked G. R. with a crow's 

 foot.) I have also a very thick and large- 

 sized woolen blanket, also marked G. R. with 

 a crow's foot, burnt in, I think my father has 

 told me, with powder, by what process I can- 

 not conceive, and may be entirely wrong in 

 my impression. This blanket has been in 

 constant use in the family for more than fifty- 

 five years — now covers my own bed — and 

 seems to be good for as many more years, 

 while it might have been used for as long a 

 period before the naval battle between the 

 Boxer and the Enterprise ofF our coast. This 

 blanket is a significant comment upon these 

 "shoddy" days. As some of yotn- little read- 

 ers may not understand what "G. R." means, 

 let me say that they are the initial letters of 

 Georgius Rex, or King George, one of the 

 Georges being King of Great Britain at the 

 time of the manufacture of the articles. 



