THE ISLAND QUEEN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2811, 26 August 1908, Page 76

THE ISLAND QUEEN.

Close to the, heart of thee, -Love, 1 har* .■been, v • •- Seeming as psatt of th«e, restful, serene, - Or filial with » longing fha.t knoweth , n» word, .-, ■ '/, . ' ,;" When' fancies are thronging and' fh» spirit is stirred '*'"' As the wind o'er the flax Baitb^'AlasTi-afidl alas!" . 1 v^i'itt-.s And the <sloud broodeth .dun o'er ite foi;eatecß I pass. ii(K v ■■■,-<■ "Close to tie Tireast of thee, ' Love I fcav» ! ' been ; ' ' I But how little <&pr«ssed totf thee, lon» - Island Queen. ' From far Haiv.-aiki to Reicga. again My spirit must seek thee, but sateless remain A3 the sea, 'neath the ngaio dptii ( . lej^Uy, " booSn. ' • ■ 'h '1 Wlien night fills th© forest witli 'Tv-«ircttte^3 . and gloom. ''• ' "' ■ l " > ' 1 » ■.,i--'>hif\r,HT -^ The- rata, and' kauri, they bower ed thseitoailjJ pride, ->.i.vi::< ' ii.fli Whenr th« -wsurrior Maori -was 49 r %i-i}?rf"- ~ bride, , ,[*.,{,„ "Wher* awful and grim towered dam rfgaTU.-, hoe, - # * ' "*•-•• ;■<; And lone Taranaki bore his burden 'of 'sndw, Or the murmurous river spieodtS fori'tbroiigU the plain, •■ , 1 • I \-,-- And the wind' saith for ever "She -conies not again." Life-long where dark birch«S by lone torrents j brood, And tih« sky moka, calls to the tenaatless .. wood, j Where £feededl pa,tet«* is spread to the sun And yellow taukhiaut -where, clear tpaters , 1 run, " ' ' I will seek thee, and dewn by the cliffs of i the bay, . But thmi wi'H e-lude me and lure me- tcr aye. — Chahles Osoab Palmeb. Kaikoura, July, 1908. * Patete, tussock. + Taukinau, a nativ* shrub.

— The Dowager Queen Margherita of Italy recently defined a lady as 'a. woman " soft of speech and manner, with the - courage of her convictions and' the ability,, to practise self-restraint." —On German State railways, first-cla6s! ( ' carriages are painted yellow, eecpndj-cla-sg.. green, and third-class white. This, .mates* > it very easy to pick out the class* you^fedttt, " and it saves time at the stations.' * '■'" ir l'\ ;