The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1896-01-23

| laureate OF ngand is somewhat disappoint-
| ing, if one judges him from the scattered bits
of verse that appear in our papers-whieh Is
admittedly an unfair way. However, He does
not seem to be a worthy successor to Tennyson.
Tennyson wrote many commonplace things
many OF them were his official poems, those
that were in the line of his duty as laureate
| but he wrote enough that was fine and strong
to make us forget the occasional cheaper verse.
Sometimes even in his very stupidest poems
| flash lines as dainty as n Spring blossom. Now,
| Austin, in the seven or eight poems read, does
not excite much interest. His haymaker's
| song is given in Steadman's Victorian Anthol
ogy as one of his fine efforts.
THE LAWMAKERS SONG.
Here's to him that grows it,
Drink lads drink
That lays IL in and movys IL,
Clink, jugs. oinkl
To him that mows aud makes IL,
That scatters il and shakes it,
That turns and tends and rakes IL.
Clink. jugs, clnkl
Now here's to him that stacks IL,
Drink lads. drink,
That thrashes and that tacks 10,
Clnk, jugs. clink.
That cuts il out for eating
When March-dropped lambs are bleating
And slate-blus clouds are seeting,
Drink, lads drink
And so on through another similar verse in
which yoeman. foeman, low man, no man and
bow man rather dariugly rhymed
From his poem mourning the death of Lord
Beaconsfeld here is the best stanza:
Now in an English grave he lies.
With flowers that tell of English skies and mind of
English air;
A grateful sovereign decks his bed.
And hither long. with pilgrim tread,
Will the English repair.
An impromptu does service very prettly,
and the little maid will take pride in the verse.
IMPRoMPTU.
To Frances Garnet Wotseiey
Little maiden just beginning
To be comcy, arch and winning,
In whose form I catch the traces
OF your mothers gifts and grace-,
And around whose head the glory
or your fathers growing story,
Ger whose cradle, fortune guided.
Mars and Venus both presided,
May your fuller years inherit
Female charm and manly merit
so that all may know who greet you
With vivacity and virtue.
Whence you have the luck to borrow
Pensive mien without its sorrow.
Dignity devoid of GOODNESS,
Sprghriness without its holiness,
Ralery uHtipped with malice
Playful wit and kindly snllies.
EIoquence averse from railing,
Each good point without its flilingi
And when, little bud. you flower
Into maidenhood and power.
Fate not fainter heart allot you
Than the brave one that begot you,
So that you race continue
Worthy of the hood within you.
Handing down the gifts you bring them
With n better bard to sing them.
So
We read in one of the papers that "an oyster
cocktail is distinctly drink" Probably it is,
but it does not sound very good for drink.
4*x
Bulbs that are about to come into bloom
should be carefully watered and given liquid |
fertilizer for nourishment
-
All gardeners know the small pest, soft,
green bug-the aphis-and what destruction it |
means to plants. Amateurs may be able to
profit by bit of advice found in the Phila-
delphia Press:
ITO kill the green aphis when the plants are |
infested twist a newspaper into cone shape put |
it over the plant placed in a pan, ignite damp |
ened tobacco stems, and when the smoke curls |
through the small opening in the top of the |
cone you will have a good fumigator that will |
quickly destroy the insects"
Women are delightfully."- alive these days. |
Now skating is the fad and it is so graceful,
and it means freshened blood and brighter eyes
and rosy cheeks.
So
Some girls wear their bicycle suits to skate
IN, but the short skirts are not so graceful as
.he long ones for skaters.