VARIOUS VERSES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8312, 15 December 1906, Page 3

VARIOUS VERSES.

OLD TOWSER. Come here, old Towser—faithful still In clear or stormy weather— And lay thy head upon my knee, And let us*chat together! Lift up your honest eyes to mine And list to what I'm saying! Sit very still, old dog, for I Am in no mood for playing. You stole a bone the other day ! Oh.! you were hungry, were you? Well, don't repeat the act again And this time I will spare you. But how about the fight you had With Uncle Billy's Rover? I saw you when yon ran at him In yonder field of clover. And then, how dared- you te:.r the clothes Hung up by Mrs Hewitt? Oh ! you were playing then, were you, And didn't mean to do it. I fear you're growing naughty, dog— Much trouble yon have made me— But, then, with all your faults, old friend, You never have betrayed me. And I can't say as much for some Who boast of human learning, And who have larger brains than thine To aid their kin discerning— Who hide their faces in a mask, Who hate while they're beguiling— Who fawn and natter to deceive, And murder while they're smiling And base ingratitude, old dog, You ne'er was guilty of it— Dog as you are, with all your faults, .You have a soul above it. But I've known some of human kind Who'd frown' on those that blessed them, And pitilessly sting the hand That nourished and caressed them.

Old dog, why do you shake your head, And squirm about, and wink- so?/ You think I'm slandering my race? I wish I too could think so. . I do not say that all are bad— Indeed, I think that few are— But I reiterate that dogs To friendship always true are. No doubt you're full of passions strong, And when temptation meets you, You're like the stern, self-righteous man Who vilifies and beats you— You'll stop to taste unbidden fruits, E'en though it bring disaster ; But, unlike man, you'll never prove A traitor to your master.

LIGHT ON THE CLOUD. There's never all always cloudless sky. There's, never a vale so fair, But over it sometimes shadows lie In a chill and songless air. But never a cloud o'erhung the day, . And' flung its shadows down, But on its heaven-side gleamed some ray, Forming a sunshine crown. It is dark on only the downward side; Though rage the tempest loud, And scatter its terrors far and wide, There's light upon the cloud. And often when it traileth low,' Shutting the landscape out, And only the chilly east-winds blow From the foggy seas of doubt. There'll come a time, near the setting sun, When the joys of life seem few ; A rift will break in the evening dun, And the golden light stream through. And the soul a glorious bridge will make < Out of the golden bars, And all its priceless treasures take Where shrine the eternal stars. —Minot J. Savage.