y books a-row;
Before the bust you flaunt and flit
Of "blind Maeonides"--
Ah, trifler, on his lips there lit
Not butterflies, but bees!

You pause, you poise, you circle up
Among my old Japan;
You find a comrade on a cup,
A friend upon a fan;
You wind anon, a breathing-while,
Around AMANDA'S brow;--
Dost dream her then, O Volatile!
E'en such an one as thou?

Away! Her thoughts are not as thine.
A sterner purpose fills
Her steadfast soul with deep design
Of baby bows and frills;
What care hath she for worlds without,
What heed for yellow sun,
Whose endless hopes revolve about
A planet, _aetat_ One!

Away! Tempt not the best of wives;
Let not thy garish wing
Come fluttering our Autumn lives
With truant dreams of Spring!
Away! Re-seek thy "Flowery Land;"
Be Buddha's law obeyed;
Lest Betty's undiscerning hand
Should slay ... a future PRAED!

THE CURE'S PROGRESS.

Monsieur the Cure down the street
Comes with his kind old face,--
With his coat worn bare, and his straggling hair,
And his green umbrella-case.

You may see him pass by the little "_Grande Place_,"
And the tiny "_Hotel-de-Ville_";
He smiles, as he goes, to the _fleuriste_ Rose,
And the _pompier_ Theophile.

He turns, as a rule, through the "_Marche_" cool,
Where the noisy fish-wives call;
And his compliment pays to the "_Belle Therese_,"
As she knits in her dusky stall.

There's a letter to drop at the locksmith's shop,
And Toto, the locksmith's niece,
Has jubilant hopes, for the Cure gropes
In his tails for a _pain d'epice_.

There's a little dispute with a merchant of fruit,
Who is said to be heterodox,
That will ended be with a "_Ma foi, oui!_"
And a pinch from the Cure's box.

There is also a word that no one heard
To the furrier's daughter Lou;
And a pale cheek fed with a flickering red,
And a "_Bon Dieu garde M'sieu!_"

But a grander way for the _Sous-Prefet_,
And a bow for Ma'am'selle Anne;
And a mock "off-hat" to the Notary's cat,
And a nod to the Sacristan:--

For ever through life the Cure goes
With a smile on his kind old face--
With his coat worn bare, and his straggling hair,
And his green umbrella-case.