OUR LITTLE POLKS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1639, 21 April 1883, Page 27

OUR LITTLE POLKS.

The Queen's Gift. (By Rose Hautwiok Thorpe, in St. Nicholas ) Where English daisies blossom,

And hnpi h robins sing, When all the and uas fragrant

Beneath the feet ot Spring-, Two little sisters wandered logethtr, hand-in-hand, Along the dustj hig >way, Their lure feet suited and taniv-d. 'T»*as not a childi-h cor ow

That, fi.lert their e^es with tears; Thiir little heans were buiduned

With grief beyond thtir years. The bruhteytd dairies blossomed

In valley and in glen, The iobini simg thiir owei'tesfc,

Sjixiug smiled— but noi for them. Benuath the trees of Whiuhall, Witniu their shadow brown, From out the royal pa ace

The Queen came walking down. She saw the children standing Togethtsi, side by side, And, gazing down with pity, fehe a k«d them whj tuey cried. " Deai- lady," said tho eldest, "My lutle Hitter B S3 Adi inn c come tutfelnor

A hundred ivi es, 1 yuess. " Sometimes the roads were dusty,

And aoiucUmet limy wer • gieen ; We're very tired an.l li'ingo — We want to see tho Queen. " For mothers sick, dear lady, fehe cries 'm ■« a 1 Wis day ; W. h.a, her telling Jf-u-, Wh n she thinks we're J,fc play. '• She tells Him all abmit ifc, How when King Janie-> was king, We were soricn ..nd nappy .und had 'most everj thing. " We had our ow.. dear fa'her, At home beside the Thames, But fattier wi tit to haitle

Became he loved King Jamea. "And then things were so different — I ca .nut, tell you h tvr. We h v iii anj father, N r any nice things now. " La-t dight our m ulier totd us

Tnej'd take our hou-.e away, An leave us without any, itetause we cvi Id .'t pay " So then we came together, KiKlit thr. u-,h C 1 c meadows green, And prayed f r God to he.p uh, Aiid take us tv the Queen ; " B eau-e Mamma ome told us

That,, nim\ years ago, The Queen w^ Jamun' little girl, And, Lady, if 't way 80, " I know she'll let us keep it, <ni- home beside the Tnames, For we h .ye come to n^k her, And 1«U her lovei) Xin o ' James. " And if we had to leave it,

I'm sure Mamma would die, For theie's no place to go to— No place but hi tho sky." Her simple sf.ory finished,

She gazed up in surprise, To Fee thts lovely la'ly

Wuh Uar dro, s in her eyes. Ard when the English robi'is

Had inutfht each >-o" n\ ne-t, And when the bright-ejed daisies.

Dcw-Uauip, hud jjone to lCst, A carriage, such as never

H.ul pi sod that way before, Set down two tift'e c iM-irea

Bes.de the widow's door. And brought the w* eping mother

A packag frotn the Queen. Her royal seal was on on it, And, folded in between,

A slip of pai er, saying : "Tlie daughter of Kjnff James Gives to tho*e litt c children Their hume besides the Thames."