The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-04-16
BEN BOLT AND SWEET ALICE.

By AMANDA MINNIE DOUGLASS.
Bolt,
Who bushed with delight when you gave her
And irembied with fear at your frown?
In the old church-yard In the valley, Zen
In corner secluded and lone,
They have fitted q slab of granite, so gray
And sweet Alice lies under the stone.-ENG-
LISH.
Don't you remember? Are those
three magic wOrds-a key herewith
we may unlock the flOOd-gates of her
heart, and send the sweet waters of
the past over the plains anil down the
hills of the fair land, known in our
hearts experience as by-gOne? Even
so. There rises before us visions of
time when the bright, deep eyes of
the young spring gazed shily at us
from beneath the ermined mantle of
winter-when the blue violets stole
their first tints from the blue sky
above; when the cowslips of May,
and the gOlden-hearted butter-cupS
first jeweled the slender blades of
grass and the hawthorn grew white
with its blossoms; when we roamed
the woods the whole of that long,
warm, June holiday, weaving gar
lands and listening to the concert of
birds i'm that dark, mistletOe-wreathed
Oaken forest. There was one i'm years
agOne that prayed-"Lord keep my
memory green" and the clinging
tendrils of our hearts yearningly to
this prayer.
But green and fresh as the poets
prayer, had the heart of Ben Bolt
been kept--from his early boyhOOd
to the hour he sat by his old friend,
and listened to the song of hy-gOne
days. Not "thrOugh glass, darkly,"
did he review those scenes of the
past, but it was the going back of the
boy-heart to other hearts of child
hood.
There was little red school house,
with its dusty windows, and desks
that had been knickcd many a time,
trying pen-knivcs its tall stern
looking teacher, whose heavy voice
caused the younger ones to tremble;
its rows of boys and girls, with their
heads bent attentively downward to
their books and States. The winter
wind sang and whistled without, and
though some few childish hearts tried
to find words for its mournful notes,
they were too young and happy to
know that it carried desOlatiOn and
heart-ache in its wall; yet did they
learn it in after days.
Then there clme few light, round
snOw-balls, SO tiny that it must have
been the sport of the storm spirits i'm
the eldrich revels,-changing by and
by to feather flakes, that danced about
ever go gaily. How the children's
eyes grew bright as they looked at
one another, and thought of the mer-
ny rides down hill, and the snow
balling that would make the play
ground ring again. The last lessons
were said, books put aside, and in
place of the silence reigned gay, glad
voices. Kate Ashley threw back her
jetty ringlets, and laughed through
her sparkling eyes, as she gave jamie
Marvin that bit of curl he had
teased for so long, because she knew
that Jamie had the prettiest sled in
the whole school. All, a bit of
a cOquette was that same gleeful,
rOmping Kate and there was Sophie
Dale, looking as demure as kitten
walking from pan of new milk,
and playful as q kitten too, was she,
in spite Of her quiet looks and the
stately EliZabeth-Queen Bess they
called her, and question If England's
Queen had hautier carriage; but
apart from those who were eagerly
looking for friends to take them home
stood Alice May-sweet Alice
Very beautiful and lOvable was she,
with her winsome, childish face,
blue eyes, and soft, brown curls.-
She was delicate and fragile, you
might almost fancy her little snow
child, or lost fairy babe.
Nearly all the children had de-
parted, amid the joyful shouts and
jiDgling bells, but yet the sweet little
child alone, until rich boyish voice,
srartled her by saying:
mo one goes your way, Alice, do
they?
"No, l guess not, Ben, she replied,
i'm her fine snOw-bird like tones.
"Well, the snow Is too deep for you
to walk, so ] guess will carry you
hOme."
ooh, no, Pm too heavy to be car
ried sd far" and she laughed so low
and Sweetly.
"Heavy! no, you'rejust like thistle.
down, or q snow flake, Ally; i could
carry you TO England and back again,
without being at all fatigued !" and
he tossed tho little girl In his arms.
"NO, no, the boys will laugh ut
you, Ben, and she struggled.
"What do ! careP they may laugh
at Ben Bolt as much as they like"
and the brave boy drew himself up
proudly, and pushed the chestnut
curls from his broad, fair forehead I;
"but / do not mean to frighten you,
Alice" he continued, as he saw how
the little girl trembled.
SO she put on her bonnet and cloak,
and Ben took her in his arms as II
she had been bird, while the little