ation, and each one declared it impossible
to perform such a feat.

"Try," said the judge briefly; and he passed round the pencils and
the sheets of paper. Then he laid his watch on the cloth, and gave
the signal. You would have laughed at the utter stillness then, and
at the perplexity on each face. Slowly the hands moved round, till
the ten minutes were up, and the judge cried halt.

"You read then, judge," said Mr. Goldthwaite; "begin with your own."

"Well, here I am," said the judge with a very comical smile, and he
read slowly and distinctly:--

"It seems to me that if you go
Enjoyment for to seek,
You'll find out all you want and more
Up here on Pendle Peak."

A shout of laughter greeted this effusion, and the judge pretended to
be highly offended.

"I object to the 'for' in the second line," said Mr. Goldthwaite.

"Do you think I don't know it has no business there?" said the judge.
"But I couldn't get it to rhyme, so I was obliged to put in
something. It is not bad for an old fellow who never made two lines
rhyme before in his life. Come then, Frank, pass up yours."

"To read a page from Nature's book,
In this deep solitude,
Uplifts the heart in purer aims,
And leads us nearer God."

"True, Frank," said the judge solemnly. "You have beaten me hollow
anyway.--Now, Carrie."

"Mine is very poor indeed, Judge Keane," said Carrie, as she passed
up her slip. "Like yours it is my first attempt."

"The beauty of the hills,
So calm, so free, so bright,
Can dim my eyes with tears,
And fill me with delight."

"Very good" was the verdict; and then Miss Keane reluctantly gave up
her paper.

"How still it is! No rude discord
Falls on the ear;
We feel all earthly thoughts and aims
Must vanish here."

That also was pronounced "very good," and Judge Keane feared he
should have some difficulty in adjudicating the prize. Mr. George
Keane's was the next.

"I never wrote a poem, but since
You will not be refused,
I do declare I don't know how,
And beg to be excused."

"You have no chance anyway, George," said his father, laughing with
the rest. "It has not the remotest reference to the subject in
hand.--Well, Lucy."

"Mine last, please," pleaded Lucy.

So the judge took the paper from