THE WALK HOME.

Otago Witness, Issue 2663, 29 March 1905, Page 76

THE WALK HOME.

By E. K. L.

An ideal night. for walking. The long, ■nhite road stretches before us. diamonds rpaiklt* everywhere: no miser is Mother Nature, and to-night with no niggardly hand she has bedecked her children in their sparkling jewels and bestrewn our patliwav. To-niorrow the kind old Sun will gather and treasure those jewels, and next night he will give them back.

On we pass! Those silent gum trees, f hose rustling leaves are whispering of their own warm native land, of sunburnt plains and dried-up streams ; of fierce, searching days and merry, warm nights ; of a land of laughter and sunshine; of dark-bodied men and restless roving bushmen; they bhiver in this cold night air, envying their sisters their own native haunts.

A whiz and a whirl ! A cyclist passes on with a cheery "Good-night/ and soon disappears down the road A much-belated, rabbit darts across our path, scuttling away among the gorse bushes, as though abashed at. its own audacity in braving the night. Now we have come to tbe pines, those sentinels of a storm-tossed age. No tale of warmth and sunshine is tbeirs, but silent, dark, sombre they stand, whispering of the glories of their ancestors — a tale of grey skies and fleeing fugitives, of Napoleonic marches and Scotch Covenanters, the screech of the pibroch and the wail of the pipes, dark, fearful, weird, these are the tales they tell, these str>m guardians of a warlike past, bowing allegiance to none save the "storm king." Away in t«h.e distance the rhythmic beating of a horse's hoofs on t.be frosty road 13 heard. Neater, nearer, draws the sound, and through the clear night air we hear tho voices of men singing, the horse apparently keeping time. . ''Close your dreamy eyes'' floats up to us from the valley below. The river glistens in' the silvery moonlight, the sea is like an enchanted dream, and its soft lullaby but adds to the pleasure of the road. With a sigh we turn and face the hill; the dogs bark us welcome: a rooster, mistaking the moon for the morning sun, crows out his call ; another an danother takes up the challenge, till the valley below resounds: a Ihousand nameless sounds fall on the ear. A little tired, perhaps, we open the door, and are at home once more.

— Wife : ''Shall I put your diamorwi studs in your shirt, dear?" Husband: "What on earth are you thinking of? Do you want to ruin me? I have a meetingof my creditors this morning."' ° — The Chicken: '"WJiat advice would you give a chicken, pa?" The Roo.-rer : "I'd advke him to try to grow tough." — The wife of a burglar was being examined by an eminent lawyer. ''You are i f}± w ?f G of * m 5 man?" asked the barrister. 'Yes, replied the witness. '"You knew he was a burglar when you married him?" continued the lawyer. "Yos," she answered. "And how did you come to contract a marriage with such a man?"' '"Weir, lit ■\yas this way," said the v.itnes^. sarcastically; "I was getting old, and had to ohoose between a burglar and a lawyer.

The special Gardeh Ferttlis'er mad? tip by Kimito and Blair -will be found to give excellent results when used for Flowers and Vegetables; also for Pot Plauts, in and out of greenhouse. It is put up in 71h bags, at Is 6d each. Ask yonr storekeeper for it.