He blew him bubbles such as those
Our urchins blow so oft,
Then watched them as they upward rose,
And almost scraped his knowing nose,
In mimic pomp aloft.

*Twas thus he sought, as great men do,
From trifles light as air,

A truth the ancients never knew,

A truth which opens glories new,
And gives us treasures rare.

But when a lady, dwelling near,
Saw, through the open sash,

Sir Isaac and his bubble gear,

She thought he was as mad as Lear,
If not so loud and rash.

A crazy man he was to her,
A poor half-witted thing ;

Yet he, who did her pity stir,

Was the earth’s prime philosopher,
And grander than a king!

So, like great Newton, let us read
Lessons in all we see ;

Yes, let the daisy of the mead,

A grain of sand—a thistle-seed—
Our books of wisdom be.

And let us, in our work and play,
Do all with might and main;

Our life is but a little day,

Its golden minutes ebb away,
And will not come again.

The bubble, as it breaks apace,
Life’s brief career may show ;
For all, who are of Adam’s race, -
Obscure or mighty, good or base,

Like bubbles come and-go.

G. 8. 0.

 

 

A FISHING ADVENTURE.

O* the 16th of August, 1715, two brothers, who

were students, on a fishing- :xcursion in Norway,
landed from their boat upon an island of barren rock,
fifteen yards wide by twenty long, in the middle of a
great lake. Whilst there, a gust of wind drifted
the boat to the shore of the lake. Neither of the
brothers could swim. Lightly clad, they remained
nine days in sight of their fishing-boat and faithful
dog, who continued watching their things, and now
and then appeared on the gunwale of the boat and
whined piteously. They put up a rude hovel of loose
stones, which, however, afforded them little shelter
in an exposed situation on a lake 3000 feet above
the level of the sea.

On the ninth day they could not see their dog, and
supposed he had died of grief and starvation. ‘The
dog, it appeared afterwards, had left, and, finding his
way home, by constant howling and restlessness had
given the idea that some misfortune had happened.

On the night of the twelfth day the two brothers
embraced each other for the last time, as they believed,
and awaited death. Their only food had been
about an ounce of wild sorrel each day. Suddenly

 

 

they heard the tramp of horses and the sound of
voices on the edge of the lake. One brother had
Just strength enough to make himself heard, and they
were rescued.

The two students, after some weeks’ illness, re-
covered, but their faithful dog died from the effects
of his long fasting, and found a resting-place in the
students’ garden. Hvuserr Sirs.

 

STORIES ABOUT AMERICAN
INDIANS.

By Rey. E. B. Tuttle, U. S. Army.
BURIAL OF A CHIEI’S DAUGHTER.

POTTED TAIL, the head chief of
the Brule Sioux, sent a request to
the commanding officer at Fort
Laramie, saying ‘his daughter had
died in Powder River countr
(fifteen days’ journey), and had
begged her father to have her
grave made among the whites.’
Consent was given, she having -
been known to the officers for
several years, and her death was
brought on by exposure to the
hardships of wild Indian life, and
also from grief, that her tribe
would go to war.

He was met outside the ‘ Post’ by the officers, with
the honours due to his station. ‘The officer in com-
mand spoke in words of comfort, saying, ‘he sym-
pathised with him, and was pleased at this mark of
confidence in committing to his care the remains of
his loved child. The Great Spirit had taken her, and
he never did anything except .or some good purpose.
Everything should be prepared for the funeral at sun-
set, and as the sun went down it might remind him
of the darkness left in his lodge when his daughter
was taken away; but as the sun would surely rise
again, so she would rise, and some day we would all
meet in the land of thé Great Spint.’

The chief exhibited great emotion at these words,
and shed tears; a thing quite unusual in an Indian.
He took the hand of the officer and said: ‘‘This must
be a dream for me to be in such a fine room, and sur-
rounded by such as you. Have I been asleep during
the last four years of hardship and trial, dreaming
that all is to be well again? or is this real? Yes, I
see that it is,—the beautiful day, the sky blue, with-
out a cloud; the wind calm und still, to suit the
errand I came on, and remind me that you offer me
peace! We think we have been much wronged, and
entitled to compensation for damage done and distress
caused by making so many roads through our country,
driving and destroying the buffalo and game. My
heart is very sad, and I cannot talk on business. 1
will wait and see the counsellors the Great Father will
send,’

The scene, it is added, was the most impressive I
ever saw, and all the Indians were awed into silence.
A scaffold was erected at the cemetery, and a coffin
was made. Just before sunset the body was carried,
followed by the father and other relatives, with chap-
lain (Rev. A. Wright, U.S. A.), officers, soldiers, and