IT

THE CLOWN'S BABY.

T was out on the Western frontier—
The miners, rugged and brown,
Were gathered around the posters;
The circus had come to town!
The great tent shone in the darkness,
Like a wonderful palace of light,
And rough men crowded the entrance-
Shows didn't come there every night!

Not a woman's face among them;
Many a face that was bad,
And some that were only vacant,
And some that were very sad.
And behind a canvas curtain,
In a corner of the place

The Clown, with chalk and vermillion,
Was "making up" his face.

A weary looking woman,

With a smile that still was sweet,

Sewed on a little garment,

With a cradle at her feet.
Pantaloon stood ready and waiting,
It was time for the going on,
But the Clown in vain searched wildly;
The "property-baby" was gone!

He murmured impatiently hunting;
"It's strange that I cannot find-
There! I've looked in every corner ;
It must have been left behind;"

The miners were stamping and shouting,

They were not patient men.

The Clown bent over the cradle"I must take you, little Ben!" The mother started and shivered,

But trouble and want were near; She lifted her baby gently,

"You'll be very careful, dear?" "Careful? You foolish darling-" How tenderly it was said!

What a smile shone through the chalk and paint"Why, I love each hair of his head !"

The noise rose with an uproar,

Misrule for the time was king;

The Clown with a foolish chuckle,
Bolted into the ring-

But as, with a squeak and flourish

The fiddles closed their tune,

"You'll hold him as if he were made of glass,”

Said the Clown to Pantaloon.

The jovial fellow nodded;

"I've a couple myself," he said,

"I know how to handle 'em, bless you!

Old fellow, go ahead!"

The fun grew fast and furious,

And not one of all the crowd
Had guessed that the baby was alive,
When he suddenly crowed aloud.

Oh that baby laugh! It was echoed
From the benches with a ring,

And the roughest customer there sprung up
With "Boys, it's the real thing !"

He was thronged by kneeling suitors
In the midst of the dusty ring,
And he held his court right royally,-
The fair little baby-king,-
Till one of the shouting courtiers,

A man with a bold, hard face,
The talk, for miles, of the country,
And the terror of the place,

Raised the little king to his shoulder,
And chuckled, "Look at that!"
As the chubby fingers clutched his hair,
Then, "Boys, hand round the hat!"
There never was such a hatful

Of silver and gold and notes,
People are not always penniless
Because they don't wear coats!
And then, "Three cheers for the baby!"
I tell you those cheers were meant,
And the way in which they were given
Was enough to raise the tent.

And then there was sudden silence,

66

And a gruff old miner said,

Come, boys, enough of this rumpus!

It's time it was put to bed."

So, looking a little sheepish,

But with faces strangely bright,

The audience, somewhat lingeringly,

Flocked out into the night.

And the bold-faced leader chuckled

"He wasn't a bit afraid!

He's as game as he is good looking—
Boys, that was a show that paid!"

EXTRACT FROM A EULOGY ON GENERAL GRANT.

GRAN

RANT is one of the few men in history who did more than was expected. Some men excite great expectation by the brilliancy of their preparations; but this quiet, meditative, undemonstrative man exceeded all expectations by doing more than he had promised, and by doing what all others had failed to do. Others had done their best with a conscientiousness worthy of all praise; they had worked up to their maximum strength and accomplished much; they had contributed largely to the final victory, and shall receive well of their country. It was no fault of theirs if nature had not endowed them for the ultimate achievement. But this man, pre-eminent by the happy combination of both nature and Providence, rose superior in the supreme moment, forced all things to do his bidding, and thus led the way to victory.

Was Fort

His latent resources seemed inexhaustible. Donelson esteemed impregnable? It yielded to his command for an immediate and "unconditional surrender." Did Vicksburg defy his sixth plan of capture? His seventh plan was a success. Did Richmond hurl defiance at all previous attempts? His final effort was a triumph, and over the doomed capital of the Confederacy triumphantly floated the flag of the Union.

But whence the secret of the power of this one life on the thought of the world and the love of mankind?

Others have insured for themselves imperishable renown for their martial prowess, for their profound statesmanship, for the display of their marvelous intellects; but where in all the annals of the earth and time shall we find another who more than he stamped all that he said and all that he did with such purity and loftiness of character? His individuality was most intense. This was the source of his strength, the power of his action, the glory of his achievements. He was never other than himself. He acted with a spontaneity all his own.

And what were the elements of that character, so unique, symmetrical, and now immortal? God had endowed him with an extraordinary intellect. For forty years he was hidden in comparative obscurity, giving no indications of his wondrous capacity; but in those four decades he was maturing, and at the appointed time God lifted the veil of obscurity, called upon him to save a nation and give a new

direction to the civilization of the world. How calm his judgment, how clean and quick and accurate his imagina tion, how vast and tenacious his memory!

From this better nature and higher mission as a warrior sprang his conduct toward the vanquished. He had no hatred in his heart. His heart was as tender as a woman's. He was not vindictive. His holy evangel to the nation was, "Let us have peace." Hence, toward the close of the war, those who had fought against him saw that there was no safety but in the arms of their conqueror. In his dying chamber he grasped the hand of him whose sword was the first he had won, and said: "I have witnessed since my sickness just what I wished to see ever since the war-harmony and good feeling between the sections."