SEED-TIME AU© HABVEST. 
BLESS THE CHILDREN, 
BY MR8. M. S, SMITH 
about ceased to be, and the warm ones oJf 
Oh! the little people all around the world, 
Oh! the pretty tresses by the breezes curled. 
Wee heads brown and golden, braids of ebon hue. 
Eyes that greet th* sunlight, gray, and black, aud 
blue. 
Oh! the little fingers busy everywhere. 
Mixing with their pleasures bits of childish care, 
With the constant tapping of the dainty shoe, 
Or the feet that patter, browned by sun and dew. 
Busy, busy children. Active little brains 
Gathered ’neath the roof-tree or wandering in the 
lanes. 
Buds of hope and promise scattered everywhere — 
Mother, friend and teacher, they art* worth your 
care. 
** 0w s ' vift b’ leay e us; boys are growing fast; 
Childhood’s days are fleeting, girlhood soon is past 
Ihese must do your thinking in the days to come, 
Acting for you, speaking, when your lips are dumb. 
Precious little children scattered everywhere. 
Whooping on the greensward, playing on the stair 
Little hearts are tender, trusting, warm and true 
When you chance to meet them, give a smile or two. 
Bless the darling children, how they stretch and 
grow, 
Storing bits of wisdom as they laughing go. 
Living, thinking, acting, chasing phantoms new, 
While we teach them lessons, we are learning too. 
Bless the precious children, be they brown or fair 
Bless the tiny pink feet, whether shod or bare; 
Palace-bred or lowly, each child his mission given 
Needs your help to fill it and make him fit for 
heaven. 
Rural Sports of Old Rutland. 
BY FRANK S. FINN. 
Number Three. 
Although March was, as it is now, a 
somewhat blustering month, and not vJry 
conducive to merry-making, the people 
found some way to amuse themselves; and 
even the season of Lent, which, as has been 
stated in the last article, was generally and 
rigidly kept, the pent-up love for some kind 
of festivity must have a vent somewhere, 
so the people peered all through the month’s 
calendar and hit on Mid-Lent Sunday, and 
which has also been styled Mothering Sun¬ 
day, Refreshment Sunday and Rose Sun¬ 
day. It|occurs on the fourth Sunday in 
Lent. As it usually occured about the mid¬ 
dle of March, the cold days of winter had 
spring had beg^in to make their appearance,, 
the young people were wont to symbolize 
this matter in some way, and they could 
think of nothing better than to rig up a 
figure of straw which they called Death,, 
and which they carried around in proces¬ 
sion to signify that winter was dead. But 
some of the rural population did not under¬ 
stand its signification, and being somewhat 
superstitious, feared that the figure was 
ominous and would bring what it was rep¬ 
resented to be for trifling with so solemn 
a subject. So the carriers were given mon¬ 
ey to take the “rnawkin”— possibly they 
meant mocking—creature away. 
This was not the only figure carried 
about in procession, for there were two 
others: one, emblematical of Winter, and 
the other of Spring. The former represent¬ 
ed an old man shivering in a cave hung 
with icicles; while the latter appeared as a 
gay and joyous maiden with a wreath on 
her head, another in one hand, and in her 
other hand she carried a bouquet of spring 
flowers, and these with garlands hung all 
about her, gave her quite a spring-like ap¬ 
pearance. After these figures had been 
shown enough, a mimic fight took place 
between them, and of course Winter became 
the victim. The old fellow was dead, and 
fearing he might revive if buried in the 
earth, the boys thought that the best and 
final way to get rid of him was to give him. 
a taste of cremation, which they did in the 
following manner. 
He was bound to a large wheel,, set on 
ire and then set rolling down the high, 
looking like some flying meteor that was 
exploding and sending sparks and fire in 
all directions, until it was knocked to pieces 
b> being dashed against some rock at the 
foot of the hill. All his happy days, the joys 
and blessings he had brought, the fine festi¬ 
vals of a religious and secular character 
forgotten—just like casting some friend 
aside when you have no further use for 
him. It is the way of the world, my friend; 
but it is a heartless way. Let us greet the 
new friends, yet not ignore the old onas. 
Customs give names to holidays, and as 
servants and apprentices were accustomed 
to carry cakes,, eatables, trinkets or soaw 
