THE ANGLER'S REVEILLE What time the rose of dawn is laid across the lips of night, This is the carol the Robin throws Over the edge of the valley; Listen how boldly it flows, Sally on sally: Tirra-lirra, Down the river, Fish are breaking, Time for waking. Tup, tup, tup! Do you hear? Wake up! The phantom flood of dreams has ebbed and vanished with the dark, And like a dove the heart forsakes the prison of the ark; Now forth she fares through friendly woods and diamond-fields of dew, While every voice cries out "Rejoice!" as if the world were new. This is the ballad the Bluebird sings, Unto his mate replying, Shaking the tune from his wings While he is flying: Surely, surely, surely, Life is dear Even here. Blue above, You to love, Purely, purely, purely. There's wild azalea on the hill, and roses down the dell, And just one spray of lilac still abloom beside the well; This is the song of the Yellowthroat, Fluttering gaily beside you; Hear how each voluble note Offers to guide you: Which way, sir? Let me teach you, I'll teach you. Then come, my friend, forget your foes, and leave your fears behind, This is the song the Brown Thrush flings, Out of his thicket of roses; Hark how it warbles and rings, Mark how it closes: Luck, luck, What luck? Good enough for me! I'm alive, you see. Sun shining, No repining; Idle sorrow; Cover it up! Steady, be ready, Good luck! -Henry van Dyke. From the Toiling of Felix. Copyright, 1900, by Chas. Scribner's Sons. Give fools their gold and knaves their power, Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; Who sows a field or trains a flower, Or plants a tree is more than all. For he who blesses most is blest; And God and man shall own his worth, Who toils to leave as his bequest, An added beauty to the earth. --Whittier. HOW THE WOODPECKER KNOWS How does he know where to dig his hole, To use for a drum, and to burrow in? How does he find where the young grubs grow? - The woodpecker flew to a maple limb, And drummed a tattoo that was fun for him, "No breakfast here! It's too hard for that," He said, as down on his tail he sat, "Just listen to this: rrrr rat-tat-tat." Away to the pear tree, out of sight, With the cheery call and a jumping flight, To a branch of the apple, Downy hied, "I see," said the boy. "Just a tap or two, -William J. Long. CHILD'S SONG IN SPRING The silver birch is a dainty lady, She wears a satin gown; The elm tree makes the old churchyard shady, The English oak is a sturdy fellow, He gets his green coat late; The willow is smart in a suit of yellow While brown the beech trees wait. Such a gay green gown as God gives the larches- The hazels hold up their arms for arches When spring rides through the wood. -E. Nesbit. HISTORIC TREES The grand magnolia tree, near Charleston, S. C., under which General Lincoln held council of war previous to surrendering the city. The great pecan tree at Villere's plantation, near New Oleans under which a portion of the remains of General Packenham was buried. The Tory tulip tree on King's Mountain battlefield in South Carolina on which ten blood-thirsty tories were hanged at one time. The tall pine tree at Ft. Edward, N. Y., under which the beautiful Jane McCrea was slain. The magnificent black walnut tree, near Haverstraw on the Hudson, at which General Wayne mustered his forces at midnight, preparatory to his gallant and successful attack on Stony Point. The lofty cypress tree in the dismal swamp under which Washington reposed one night in his young manhood. The huge French apple tree, near Ft. Wayne, Ind., where Little Turtle, the great Miami chief, gathered his warriors. The widespreading oak tree of Flushing, Long Island, under which George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends, preached. The pear trees planted, respectively, by Governor Endicott, of Massachusetts, and Governor Stuyvesant, of New York, two hundred years ago. The Freedman's oak, Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, under which the slaves of this region first heard read President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. The Elliot oak tree of Newton, Mass., under which the apostle John Elliot taught the Indians christianity. The ash and tulip trees planted at Mount Vernon by Washington. The elm tree planted by General Grant on the capitol grounds at Washington. The treaty elm tree at Philadelphia under which William Penn made his famous treaty with nineteen tribes of barbarians. The charter oak at Hartford which preserved the written guarantee of the liberties of the colony of Connecticut. The old liberty elm of Boston, planted and dedicated by a schoolmaster to the independence of the colonies, and the rallying points for patriots before, during and after the Revolutionary War. The Burgoyne elm at Albany, N. Y., planted the day Burgoyne was brought there a prisoner. The elm tree at Cambridge, in the shade of which Washington first took command of the Continental Army, on a hot summer's day. The Carey tree, planted by Alice and Phoebe Carey in 1832, a large and beautiful sycamore, seen from the Hamilton turnpike, between College Hill and Mt. Pleasant, Hamilton county, Ohio. The baobab trees of Cape Verde Islands. The giant trees of Califor ia. The Washington tree. "The Miner's Cabin." The great chestnut tree of Mt. Etna. The cedars of Mount Lebanon. The banyan trees of India. One in Ceylon so large as to cast a shadow over four acres of ground. |