The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1871-07-02
JUVENILE COLUMN.
KING WILL. o. THE WIsP.
"A little Elm Sprite was he;
His lamp Glow-worm bright.
Too long 10 ruled tho Fens s-but see

In the midst of wild morsss, at very lat
hour of the evening, an hour at which q
respectable and well ordered birds ought t
have been in their nests, q great number {
bitterns were suddenly summoned together
take their trial for serious misdemeanor.
He at whose call the birds assembled wa
was Will-o'the- Wisp. See him when yo
would, he was ever the same highly frisk
about thing. In one hand he always carrie,
q glow-worm in glass case, which served TO
| o lantern to light him over the swamp. In tn,
other hand he bore wand of the hurley
headed reed mace, in sign of authority
for the mischievous little urchin dubbed him.
| self Lord of the Marshes and King of the
! Fens!
On this particular occasion the queer little
Swamp King was more than usually full of his
own Importance. Fitting about from flag to
flag and from bulrush to bulrush, scudding
across the watery moor, and flashing his glow.
! worm lantern in tho face Of every bird he
made prisoner, he gathered together his offend
circle, the Dwarf-king squatted himself down
in the midst of them, grinning and wagg'ng
his malicious little head to see what panic
they were all in!
tallest Of the bitterns, aiell me what you were
about last night to make my beautiful bog
land shake as it did, till my very teeth chatter
ed againf There was I, busily plating rushes
wind should give me- the ear-ache, when, as
sure as am keeper of the marshes, the whole
region of bog-land shook under my feet. An
s sc.s me, me what were you on abont-you Bunny
Bumpy-coss looked very humble, and only
answered, 81 was fast asleep"
At this reply Will-o'-the-W isp shook his
mace in the face of the speaker, as much as to
say, I'll pay you for this by-and-by," Then,
turning to the next, he said:
Butter. bump, where were you when the
Sensath % of fsst quvered like ae
But Batterbump replied, 81 was Winding
my own misunderstanding the nest of my little
Butter Bumps on the other side of the sedges"
grinned more mischievously than before.
"Mire-drum," said he to another of the
birds, " leave off plncking at the flags there,
and answer me directly. Was it you that
come, sirrah am not to be trified with!'
Not /, indeed" said Mire-drum, looking un-
commonly demure. ~ was winging my way
right over your head, while you were TWISTING
strange within led you to take such care of q
noddle that had nothing in it but conceit."
At this speech King Wisp was so irritated
the bill with the end of his wand.
His patience was exhausted: he could get
nothing out of any of them. And, while
making up his mind to infiict some punishment
on them, he addressed the remainder in no
very musical tones.
"Bumpie, Bull-of-tbe-beg, Bittour, Bog
bumper, one aud all of you, confess at once
"ussO mlSCuiSI you wore 4uOuU, OF as sure
frogs are in the fens will make an example
of you. Do you think to escape my vengeance
by laughing in my face, as l see you are all
doing at this moments I can convict you all
for know, . rebellious subjects, that heard
you! heard all your boominS voices roaring
together like nothing GA this side bog-land but
n great, wild bull; and, o shame upon you
you thought with this wild believing to shake
my kingdom of the bog about my very ears w
Before any bird could answer, o rushing and
tearing was heard far off along the ridge of
the swamp, where it was bordered by some |
ow-lying shrubs and coarse grass-lands.
All stood bewildered at the sound; and as for |
King wisp, he would have shaken in his shoes |
if he had worn any. AS it was, the glow
ID and danced to the fearful tune his pulses I
we're beating, as he listened to roar which
low resouuded on every side, and with which |
certainly the bitterns had nothing to do.
On he came, roaring and flashing his sides
With his tsil-a great, white Bull, with black
ipped horns.
Noso. the inorass shook indeed. The quag-
nire quivered from end to the other
Rearing his beautiful head aloft and warriuc
is horns as if he wonld have liked to play at
itch and-toss with King Wisp, on came the
,allant Bullt Away with your said the
allant animal, addressing the pigmy mace
Away with you, you insignificant
title Jack -a-lantern, you. am tired of wit
essing your fantastic tricks night after night
'as shaking yom:, Away with you! Leave nv
irds alone. They shall boom as much az
hey like aod often they like. only
fish had caught you laying finger upon
hem, that's all"
Another roar from the beautiful white Rpll
nd away vanished Nill-o,the Wisp!
All that was ever seen of him or of anythinr
lat belonged to him, from that time, was the
tile glow-werm that had formed his lantern.
lad to escape, it lived n happy life ever after
/ the nearest brush wood at hand.
As for the Bull, he undertook to guide the
tterns to their nests whenever the month of
pril came round.
After the night when they were SO wrong /
lily accused, Whenever ut that period of the !
,ar they were occupied in any of tho duties J
lotted to them, they had only to look I'M. t
I'd they were to bright stars. like
weller glow worms, shining above them. and d.
caring to their una gination, the form of their I
lend and deiiver-the beautiful White Bull
oung CRUSADER.
CHARITY AND PATIENcE.-I must give you
le story from the life of COLUMBIA, which Won
i'll think belongs to you when you have read
During o journey, COLUMBIA stopped at ono .
his own monasterics, and a poor little
holar, "of thick speech, and still more heavy
pect," who was Kept busy in the meanest
ork Of the monasteries, erept in among the
ovid that pressed around the holy old man. I
III tnnched the akirt of his roba ,,,;t1.