Such homage Nature ne'er forgets,
And yearly on the coverlid
'Neath which her darling lieth hid
Will write his name in violets.

"To him no vain regrets belong,
Whose soul, that finer instrument,
Gave to the world no poor lament,
But wood-notes ever sweet and strong.
O lonely friend! he still will be
A potent presence, though unseen,--
Steadfast, sagacious, and serene:
Seek not for him,--he is with thee."

A SONG FROM THE SUDS

From 'Little Women'

Queen of my tub, I merrily sing,
While the white foam rises high;
And sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring,
And fasten the clothes to dry;
Then out in the free fresh air they swing,
Under the sunny sky.

I wish we could wash from our hearts and souls
The stains of the week away,
And let water and air by their magic make
Ourselves as pure as they;
Then on the earth there would be indeed
A glorious washing-day!

Along the path of a useful life,
Will heart's-ease ever bloom;
The busy mind has no time to think
Of sorrow, or care, or gloom;
And anxious thoughts may be swept away,
As we busily wield a broom.

I am glad a task to me is given,
To labor at day by day;
For it brings me health, and strength, and hope,
And I cheerfully learn to say,--
"Head you may think, Heart you may feel,
But Hand you shall work alway!"

Selections used by permission of Roberts Brothers, Publishers, and John
S.P. Alcott.

ALCUIN

(735?-804)

BY WILLIAM H. CARPENTER

Alcuin, usually called Alcuin of York, came of a patrician family of
Northumberland. Neither the date nor the place of his birth is known
with definiteness, but he was born about 735 at or near York. As a child
he entered the cathedral school recently founded by Egbert, Archbishop
of York, and ultimately became its most eminent pupil. He was
subsequently assistant master to Aelbert, its head; and when Aelbert
succeeded to the archbishopric, on the death of Egbert in 766, Alcuin
became _scholasticus_ or master of the school. On the death of Aelbert
in 780, Alcuin was placed in charge of the cathedral library, the most
famous in Western Europe. In his longest poem, 'Versus de Eboracensi
Ecclesia' (Poem on the Saints of the Church at York), he has left