. TtlZ7VXR&&SVN0Xt JdTmftAtV PORT LA$d7 'SUNDAY' MORNING, FE3ELUARY 2 1, TSO
V
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4 fje Crtc betit iHusitc
Would you know what make -the music?
On
slender, quivering blade
There are cotes and chords and phrase by the bees
and crickets played;
And the grasshoppers and locusts strive each other to
surpass
In their brave interpretation of fha mnjt in the grass.
By the roguish breezes towed
You-mlght think It would get lost.
But the careful fairies goard it, watching doiery as
they past. .
So on every summer day.
Sounding faint and far away,
Is the mystic, murmuring marvel of the music in the
Brass. V
i1 m
r. i
THE CIRCUS
By CHARLES BATTELL LOOMIS
T
HE circus train had run off the track, owing
to a misplaced switch, and four of the cars
containing the animals were overturned. Iost
of the beasts were recaptured; but the ele
phant found himself m the river, unharmed,
' and in the darkness of the night he swam to
the opposite shore; and when the papers recorded the
accident next morning, they said that "Zamba," the
Indian elephant, had been drowned in the Housatonic
River.
Anastasia Ferry was an imaginative child of four
summers. She held long conversations with her dolls,
and firmly believed that they could talk, and that she
could understand them. She also knew that she could
make-believe read a paper as well as the biggest
grown-up that ever sat by the hour, with spectacles on
nose and paper in hand, making up news out of his
own head.
The morning after the accident, very early, in the day,
Anastasia was playing under an apple-tree in the.
orchard with her ; little neighbor, George Davol. He
was nine years old, but often played with her, partly
because he Sympathized with her imaginings, and partly
because there were few -children of his own1 age in
South Hanaford. Anastasia liked him because he did
iot tell her, as her brother Horace, wise in his twelve
years, did : "Your dolls can't talk and your dog is only
made of excelsior and cloth." V ;
; She was playing sickness" with George. He had
"brokened" his arm by having two horses fall, on him,
and he, had come to the hospital in a "waterbpree"
(automobile) to be mended! , Sb&was head nurse, and
he was going to put a new arm on hiTh if there was
any power in "gluecilage" v ?: ;; n
George lay in hammock, with I "don't know how
many thicknesses of shawl on the injured member,
while, she gave him 'parrygockic," and told him that he
had "pendycitus" of the arm a dread disease.
She was mixing the imaginary medicine in an equally
imaginary cup, when she looked up the orchard and
saw an elephant reaching among the apple-boughs, with'
nit trunk, for apples. ' - - -
Ijr the summer of the summer, when the hazy air is
i sweet v ,
With the breath of crimson clover, and tie-day's a-shine
with heat, ,
When' the sky is blue and burning and the - clouds a
downy mass,
When the breeze is idly dawdling, there is music in the
grass f
Just a thistly, whistly sound
In the tangles near the ground ;
An.d the flitting fairies often stop to listen as they pass.
Just a lisping, whisp'ring tune,
Like a bumblebee's bassoon,
In a far-away fantasia, is the music in 4he grass.
each
ELEPHANT
Some children would have been surprised, and others
might have been at' least frightened; but she was
neither astonished nor alarmed at what the saw. All
animals were her friends, from the "trembling wolf
fish" that her father had told her about, to the "ogre
. bear" that she thought she had Seen in the whortle
' berry -patch, a strange beast that had smiltd at her.
But of all the. animals, real or imaginary (and ont
was as real as another to her), the elephant, or "gob
gligah" was hr favorite." "Googligah" was her nam
for elephant, because she generally preferred her own
names to those of her elders. She had a china one and
a leaden one and a cloth one, and a book full of pictures
of elephants performing all sorts of tricks; and while
her mother had once told her that elephants were not
what you might call common in New England, still she
thought that it was ;very natural .that one should come
there once in a while. So she said to George : 'Oh,
" there's a googligah in the orchard." And George, whose
back was to the immense beast, supposed it was more
of her imaginings, and said, "That's good. Maybe he'll
take us out riding."
."Yes 5 that's what he's come for, my dear," said
r-Anastasia, gravely. "The doctor said that when your
arm was all mended you could go out riding, and this
kind googly has come to take us both."
-Something in her manner, and the intentness of her
gaze, caused George to turn his head, and he gave a
little exclamation of surprise, though not of fear, at
' what he saw.
."Good gracious!" said he, forgetting his broken arm
'and leaping from the. hammock. "Wonder where he
came. from?" .
'"Now what's the use of wondering?" said Anastasia,
with the oldest air imaginable. "He has come to take
' us out riding, and you must get right up and go. to
.him." v -'f ' '
y George took Anastasia by the hand, and they walked
fearlessly "up to he elephant, who, having been used
to children from the earliest days of his captivity, saw
nothing unusual in their approach, ' . " , -
... ysw mjtf i raw in in r i vi i i i i i y ii -r
Sri '.VXr iytti I T" If,. I , KmTSA.
"His back's too slippery for us to ride. "He ought
B X.
7 to have awhat is the little thing they have for you
to ride in?" asked George. . ' - .
'A powdah,"- said Anastasia, gravely. ,
'TsTo, a howdah," corrected George. "But I'm going
to try to ride him. I'll bet he's run away from that
circus that was at Pittsficld last Saturday. : Edna Dean
went, and she told me the elephant gave lots of chil
dren a ride." ''v -'it,: -
They wee nowtin. front of the "mighty beast, who
put out his trunk for the peanuts that he supposed
they had. : George picked up an apple and save it to,
him instead, and the ol fellow crunched it in his great
jaws, and asked for more. ' . V ' i .
. ... "I wish we could ride him," said George, wistfully.
"It's too far to .climb ; he "hasn't any branches,! said
Anastasiaf (She could climb a small tree with branches
by herself.) ' ' '
"1 ttR yon yvb&t let's do," said George, patting the
elephant's trunk.. "I'll take the hammock down and
..throw it over him, and then tie it under him with the
long ropes,' and. then we can'hav'e something to hold
on to " , . ' , ' ' ""
It would never have entered the head of any one
but a venturesome boy to do such a thing, but it did
not take him long to unhook the hammock. ' Then he
made the elephant walk out clear of the trees, and, after
several attempts, flung the hammock over his back.
Anastasia stood by and gave George mature advice: as
to the best way, but he used his own judgment, as a
self-reliant boy is apt to do, even if a four-year-old
is his counselor, and in a surprisingly short time the
new-fangled saddle was adjusted and tied in its place.
"I didn't suppose googligahs were so big," said the
little girL "How can we get up?"
5 ' !
'MRS. FKRRT 06E TO HER FEET, NOT KNOWING WHETHER TO SCREAM OR TO LACOH.
AND OASPED. "
"I don't see how to get up unless I climb a tree and
drop down on his back. We'll go over to that big
maple," answered George.
"Why, the googligah will put us on," said Anastasia,
with a drawing down of the corners of her mouth that
showed how simple she thought herself not to have
suggested it before.
And the googligah did. He seemed to understand
what was wanted, for as soon as Anastasia stood in
front of him and held up her fat little arms, he curled
his trunk around her and lifted her up.
"Oo-ooh! it's like swinging," said she, as she went
"Hold tight to the hammock," said George; and then,
when she was in place, he went to the elephant and
was lifted to his high seat.
"Say, this is great I" he shouted. "Let's go and sur
prise your folks." ,
Mr. and Mrs. - Ferry were sitting upon the west
veranda when they heard very heavy footsteps ap
proaching the house.
"What in the world!" exclaimed Mr. Ferry.
And then around the corner of the house from the
lane that led to the orchard came Zamba with his
precious freight.
Mrs. Ferry rose to her feet, not. knowing whether
to scream or to laugh. Mr. Ferry sank inte.his chair
and gasped.
Handsome little George was perched just back of
the big ears, and rode the animal with the ey grace
of unaffected childhood. Anastasia, her eyes bright
and her cheeks red with excitement, sat with her legs
straight out in front of her and her chubby hands
grasping the meshes of the hammock. She looked like
a substantial fairy queen. .
She .explained matters in a moment: T always
wanted a googligah, mama, and so this one came to .
me out of the Orchard. I wish we'd seen him when
he was little, like my china elephant
Just then big brother Horace came home from the
post-ofneejm his wheel He uttered a shrill cry of
delight , ave you found him? Oh, I want to get
on his back ! It's Zamba, and he swam across the Hou
satonic last night They supposed he was drowned; but
a milkman thought he saw him this morning, and his
keeper was down' at the post-office asking people about
him.,.-Here he comes now." x 1
Mr. Ferry helped Anastasia and George down, and
. Cotynshi, TpoJ, ly Iks Ctniury Cvmfany.
4f '
MR. FERRT SANK INTO HIS CHAIR
the big beast stood looking at the group with his little
beady eyes.
Anastasia was equal to the occasion.
"This isn't Zamba at all. It's my own' googligah,
and I've named him 'Gooky.' "
But much to her sorrow, the circus man proved to
her father's satisfaction that it was not really Gooky,
but Zamba, and he was led away to an accompaniment
of wailings from Anastasia.
"And poor Horace didn't have a. ride!" she said, as
the good-natured beast,; led by 'his keeper, turned the
. corner that led to Cornwall.
MW9 RAtRFIN TO MISa IHnH: "Mt DEAR, IT WXBB3
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I rit Ik. TSBf t
- -OW? . VI- ; " ' . '--t I Mil I jj' v .cM.
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Y TRAVELER j;
By E. L. SYLVESTER
z ' ...
She, looked so bright and happy.
Starting off the other daym
That I coulds not but wonder
Which way, her-journey lay. T
erbapsTyoa're bound for London T.
Sa id I, in kindly We,
"For Paris, Rome, or Venice,
Or maybeor-Cologne?
"Or do you travel farther
1 To India or, Japan ?
. Xo Turkey, Persia, Egyp
Siam, or Hindustani"
Then, smiling at me "gaiIyK
i She replied : "I'm going down
4 JTo Daisyville, New Jersey, sir, ' .
Jo visit Gran'ma Brown."
WHO H AS FOUND IT?.
By EVA WAHLEN
a
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H, OH, OH, I've lost my button," whined;
Jack Slinker. "Who has found my button?"
"How did it look?" asked the hired boy,:
who was chopping wood.
"It gleamed like silver, and there were
four hojea in it Oh, oh, oh 1" whined Jack.
"Who has found Jack Slinker's button?" cried the
hired boy to all who went by.
"How did it look?" asked the milk-maid who, drove
by with her cans. , ,
"It was silver and had four hoUs in it." s
"I'll inquire from people I meet on the way," said
the girl, and started off.
The first person she met was a knife-grinder.
"Have you found Jack Slinker's button?" the girl'
asked. -. ''
A "No; how did it look?" the knife-grinder. queried.
"It , was silver or gold, I've forgotten which," but t
was large and precious."
"I'll inquire on the way" said the knife-grinder, and
so they parted.' V f
After a while he reached the inn. There sat a ped-
1eir r witlThis hundleT"
"I. don't suppose you've found Jack Slinker's gol
button, have you?" asked the knife-grinder.
"No," the peddler abruptly replied. v '
"How did it look y asked the inn-keeper, eyeing the
peddler's bundle suspiciously. , j
"It was as large a$ a hen's egg, and of pure gold,
said the knife-grinder, banging the table, with his fist,
"I'm not so sure about his having lost it," he went on.
"I shouldn't be surprised if some one has stolen it"
And he, too, looked at the peddler and his bundle. I
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