Childern's Corner.

Otago Witness, Issue 1585, 8 April 1882, Page 28

Childern's Corner.

The Ballad of Babette. (Br Thomas Dunn EsrewsH.) Babette, the peasant maiden, The guileless, graceful child, To gather nuts and berries Went in the copsewood wild. And glancing in the fountain, Beneath the shadows brown, She saw hor comely features And russet linaey gown. " Fine birds come from fine feathers" The little maiden said. " Had I a crown of rubies To wear upon my head ; . "If this poor gown was silken, And I among the girls, • Had maidens four to serve me. And a necklace made of pearls, " And I had silver slippers Upon theso little feet, A prince would come to woo mo, And call me fair and sweet." Then suddenly before her A wounded dove was seen, With drops of Hood down falling Upon the leaves of green. It trembled when she touched it, But had no power to fly ; And in hor face lookod upward With scared and piteous es'o. She washed the red drops gently That started from the wound, And the weary bird lay quiet, As though content it found. ! Then when her hand was opened, , It made a plaintive coo, ' And rising slowly upward, ! Far in the distance flow. ' Then on the maiden wandered j Till, by a hazel there, > Escaped from cruel hunters, She saw a panting hare. ! Her words of loving kindness It did not eeem to hear, Till from her quivering eyelids Dropped on it many a tear. When lo ! it rose and trembled, It's eyes grew full of light, And through the briers and hazels It bounded out of sight. And throbbed the maiden's bosom With pleasing, painful start, And happy thrills of gladness \ Mode music in her heart. When lo ! on purple pinions, A flock of doves there came ; , The first one bore a ruby, And each one had the same. i And still came flying, flying, , The doves on pinions fleet ; And rubies there on rubies They laid before her feet. And they made her a crown of rubies, i Of rubies bright and red And they mode her a crown of rubies, And placed it on her head. And next; of hares, a hundred Came from the north and south, And each, in coming, carried A great pearl in his mouth. And still came running, running, More bares, with motion fleet, And pearls, in countless numbers, They laid before her feet. And they made' her a lovely necklace Of pearls without a speck. And they made her a lovely necklace ' And placed it on her neck. Was It the poor dove's life-blood That now in rubies burned 1 '• And from Babette's kind weeping Had tears to pearls been turned 1 And then the doves flew over, And cooed with voicas sweet ; And a pair of silvern slippers She found upon her feet. And then the hares ran round her, And her skin grew white as milk, , And her go,wn of russet linsey , Was changed to one of silk. And lo I there came four maidens, , To wait on her, forsooth 1 . . 1 Simplicity and Pity, And Innocence and, Truth'.

And the dove became a fairy, : And touched her with her wand ; And the hare became Prince Charming; ' And he was young and fond. And a train of lords and ladies The little maiden met ; ' And the Prince he walked' beeide her.

The dowhcast-oyed Babette. And never in the cqpsewood Was the little maiden Been, For she dwells all time in Elf-land As the good King Charming's Queen. —From St. Nicholas.

How Bertie Saved Himself.

(Written for the Children's Garner.)

The schoolbell rang out it's last peal, and as the boya came pouring in they noticed the master standing at his desk, looking very stern ndeed— so much so that every boy he looked at was sure he was the culprit, and tried in vain to remember the nature of his last exploit. 1 What's up ?'-' Who did *t ?'-' We'll catch \t,' went rapidly round. ' Silence !' And every face waß raised in expectation. * The first boy found scribbling or Otherwise defacing a classbook shall be made an example of. Take your places.' And then, as the master turned away, the door opened and shut with a bang, and a frightened, curly-haired boy of twelve or thereabouts entered. The^ master looked up with a frown at the noisy interruption, and with a brief * Go to your seat, sir,' resumed his writing, and Bertie Milton took his place at the head of the desk, to the very evident annoyance of a lad about his own age, who sat next. ■ ' Just in time, Joe,' he laughed ; ' five minutes more and you'd ha' been top.' Joe did not answer, and for full three minutes 'Bertie's attention was given to his lessons, and then— even the master would wonder how Bertie managed to keep his place. • I ' say, shove that book along,' said Joe, politely. 1 Which one— this?' 'No, that's the class book, that one there.' 'Joe.' 'What?'

'Say thank you.' ' Shut up.' Bertie was turning over the leaves of the class-book, and as ' Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do,' Bert's were soon full enough. ' Lend us your pencil, Joe V he asked, suddenly. Joe was about to give a curt refusal, but changed his mind apparently ; and as he handed the leadpencil to Bertie there was a disagreeable smile lurking round his thin lips and in his small, mean-looking eyes. Truly Joe Miles was a sneak, and well deserved the honest dislike the majority of the boys bore him. Now as he noted Bertie's mischievous scribbling with a satisfied smile, Davy Jones, the boy sitting opposite, remarked to his neighbour : ' Somo fellow's going to catch it, or Joo Miles would not look so pleased.' 'Perhaps it's Bertie Milton ; he's sure to be up to something,' suggested Willie Lee. 'If he gets Bert thrashed I'll give him aa food a dressing as ever ho got in his life,' said >avy.

'Right you are, old fellow, and I'll finish him.' And then Bertie, with a yawn, threw down the book, and for want of something more to his taste, took up his neglected grammar, just as one of the senior boys came around collecting the class-books. He took up the one Bertie had just scribbled over, and which, through Joe's management, had lain open on the desk, and to which his attention was drawn by a meaning look from Joe. He made no remark, but walking up to the master, laid the book on the desk before him, and, fearing he would be questioned, walked silently away. Joe bit his lip with vexation. 'The fool,' he muttered; 'why didn't he tell?'

After a while the master took up the book, and Joe, watching him, saw, with malicious satisfaction, his brow darken. Nudging Bertie, he whispered, spitefully, ' you'll catch it this time, anyhow ' ; and then, for the second time that day, the master cried 'silence' ; and for the second time, but with more reason, the boys' bethought them of their misdeeds, all save Bertie, who felt somewhat bewildered by Joe's spitefulness. What did it mean ? What had he done now ? Even as he thought amid the momentary hush, the master's voice rang out, stern and clear. Holding up the book with its Bcribbled pages, he said : ' Boys j attention ! You all heard what I heard this morning. Who wrote this ?' ,Then in a moment it flashed across Bertie's unsuspecting mind. Now he understood Joe's treachery, and with a contempt too great for words, turned from the craven, and glanced at the book the master still held up to view. _It was quite a new grammar, and the question itself was superfluous. There was no mistaking Bertie's sprawling characters, and 'Robert Milton, Bertie Milton, Bert, Bert, Bert.' There it was. He saw it all too plainly as he looked up. He felt the master's eye upon him, and Joe's hateful smile, as the question was again asked, this time more sternly : '.Who wrote this?' Bertie's answer came promptly and clearly : 'Idndley Mwiray, sir/

M. A. Y.