ns that plunder the poor,
In the guise of the law; who crosses my door,
Had best make his peace with the angels above;
By my life I'll protect the darlings I love."
Like a lion at bay, the flash of his eye,
Told the brave mountaineer would shield them or die.

But the torch of the raiders lit a red flame that stung
The stouted hearted Josh like a vile adder's tongue,
Till he rushed from his cabin in madness and swore
He would save Sue and children or sleep nevermore.
But a flash from a rifle sent a ball through his brain,
And Joshua Bell never breathed once again.
And his loved ones perished in the flame and the smoke
Of his own little cabin he had hewn from the oak.

When the morning has climbed up the high eastern hill
And the sunlight is dancing on ripple of rill,
The coroner summons a jury and feigns
An inquest of law o'er the ghastly remains.
The verdict is heard with whoop and hurrah:
"These moonshiners died at the hands of the law;
Let all men beware," the coroner cried,
"The murder of outlaws is just homicide."

SILHOUETTES

The flickering carbon threw a stream
Of bluish light over the sleety street.
Men and women everywhere were hurrying homeward,
Shivering for the comfort that was gleaming
Through many a window from blazing hearths within.
The freezing rain was biting like an adder.
Down the icy thoroughfare,
Muffled deep in furs and ulster,
Madly rushed the Wall-street banker,
Plunging through the storm and shadow,
Impatient for the shelter of his mansion.
No wonder that he heeded not the darkling figure
Of a little homeless waif that crouched
Beneath the jutting frieze and cornice
Of a rich Corinthian window;--
No wonder, for the night was bitter,
And his mansion yet two blocks away!
No wonder either that the wanderer
Neither saw nor heard the banker,
Though his tread was swift and heavy,
For a mighty storm was raging!
Yet above the noise and howling
Of the wind and rain and tempest,
The outcast heard the shoeless footfall
Of a little homeless brother,
Lost amid the blinding shadows.
And soon they slept, secure and thankful,
Though the maddening storm grew fiercer,--
Slept, but dreamed:
The window rose a richer mansion
Than ever sheltered Wall-street banker--
A castle wro