The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1892-03-31
THE MONARCH OF OLA.

THE MONARCH OF OLA.
To the court Of Ola, the Island OF Ease,
Two wise men came one day.
On geological journey bound,
With hammer and chisel, the wide world
round,
They were visiting isle and continent,
And winning, wherever their steps they bent,
BY explanation and argument
Their way.
But here, as soon as they went to work,
In Ola, the Island Of Ease
A parsonage, dignifed, horid and bland,
Came hurriedly out to them, hat in hand
The Monarch Of Ola regrets" said he,
This manifestation Of industry,
Desires you to stop it Immediately,
If you please.
soojects to your chipping the royal rocks,
Dislikes scientific research,
Hard facts and harsh noises, and hammers
and SUCH
And doesn' t like gray headed men very much
In short, your departure, good sirs, I sug-
gest."
And, bowling (his manners were quite OF the
best,
He left the two scholars, perplexed and dis
tresSed,
In the lurch.
This Monarch of Ola, I hear" said one,
-" Is only child, forsooth
Vet sovereign child is a sovereign still.
And has, without doubt, a tyrannical will;
And how TO deal with the infant mind
Is difficult problem at best, find,
To the clearest logic so hooelessly blind
Is youth"
Then down they sat in the sand to mourn
Their lost geological joys,
Till fishermaid, with bright black eye,
Came strollng listening, smiling by.
d" Good sirs,' y said she may make so bold:
The Monarch OF OLA is eight years old,
And remarkably fond I've often been told,
OF toys
They started, they smiled they stroked their
Chins,
With dignihed. deep delight;
They telegraphed straight to the nearest town,
Where dwelt a toyman Of much renown,
And ordered from him in the greatest haste
A whip with handle silver-chased,
A ball with the costliest brodery traced,
And kite
or wonderful beauty and monstrous size,
Embossed in a rich design;
A banjo Of gold with tuneful twang,
And golden gun with patent bang"
bicycle Safety and trumpets and drums
The noisiest each OF its kind that comes),
INuN d VI lOpS Win u Ol uuIS
Very fine
train of cars that would run all day
At a genuine railway rate;
An army of men in golden box,
And trunkful OF golden building blocks
In short, they ordered each possible toy
That is dear to the heart Of the everyday boy,
Yet costly enough for king to enjov
In his state
Then, bowling and breathless, they stood
without
In an anteroom neat as pin,
While the messenger boys in an orderly corps
Went in with their gifts at the nursery door.
Five minutes they waited Gt seemed a week.
Then rose on the silence an uproar unique
A tempest Of weeping and Shrek upon shrek
From within.
And out at the door came the unlucky toys
In a shower that darkcned the air:
And out from the palace in dire dismay
The wise men fed by the shortest way,
Nor paused until they reached the shore,
Where. all in a heap on the sandy floor
The fisher maid found them as once before,
In despair
She heard their tale with brow demure,
At first with glance Of wonder,
And then with frown Of grave surprise
That hid the laughter that lurked in her eyes.
Nay, now" she cried, what heart of stone
This ruler Of eight years old must own!
Yet, bark you, sirs, you may still atone
For your blundcr.
A gift Of my choosing (at your expense)
Will settle the matter with ease.
And win you, I'll warrant, the royal grace,
And the consequent love OF the populace
So chear you, sirs, it is not too late;
For moderate sum you may mend your fate.
Five dollars will do it, or four ninety-eight,
II you please"
They sighed and they doubted, but drew her a
check
Quite double her modest demand;
And day or two afterward stood once more
In the anteroom, at the nursery door,
While the fisher maid with face Of JOY,
Sent in on his errand one messenger boy
With single box and single toy
In his hand.
Then 10! there was laughter and clapping OF
hands.
And a rustling OF delicate frocks:
And then from the monarch's mysterious
room
No warning there came Of immediate doom,
But gracious message OF compliment,
And the Monarch OF Ola free consent
To chip away at their hearts content
At the rocks.
The wise men then looked at the fisher maid;
She laughed with her lip a-curl.
" Next time she cried, before YOU begin,
T"were well to consider whose grace YOU
would win.
Sooth, wisdom and folly are like as two peas
That box, learned sirs, held doll, il you
please,
For the Monarch Of Ola, the Island of Ease,
is girL'"
Margaret johnson, in ST Nicholas