looking after Virginia—
  I'm in no mood to join your frolics now;
  Perhaps some other day you'll show me how
  You ride the combers on the ocean swell.
  I must be going now, Kelpies farewell.

SCENE II.

WINTER LANDSCAPE

[Paolo wandering disconsolate on snowshoes—Frosties bobbing up and down behind bushes and snowdrifts.]

Paolo—
  What goblins, what strange forms are these I see?
  I thought the haunts of men and sprites to flee
  And far from every human habitation
  Find solace for my grief mid desolation.

  Stand forth yon elf and speak, that I may know
  These are no tricks that on my fancies grow.

[Frosties all dance out on the snow—Master Frosty steps forward with greeting:]

M. F.—
  I'm the master of the Frosties' band,
  On outpost duty from the Arctic land;
  You need not fear,
  'Tis friends are here.
  Your lonely sorrow we can understand,
  And would in sympathy just clasp your hand.
  If for your grief
  You find relief
  In telling us the cause of all your woe,
  Your confidence we will respect, I know;
  And we'll be true
  As skies are blue.

Paolo—
  It is a story of a winsome maid
  That yester eve across my pathway strayed.
  That I was shy I can't deny;
  But if it will not weary you to hear,
  I'll try and tell you what I found so dear,
  When o'er a stream
  As in a dream
  I helped Virginia to the further shore,
  And lost my heart to her for evermore.

Last Night My Heart Was All Aglow

Paolo—
  The mist with pearls had beaded
  Each wayward strand of hair;
  And the light in her eyes was like sunshine.
  Would I had asked her there!

  Refrain—
  Last night my heart was all aglow,
  I loved, I loved Virginia so;
  But wintry dawn has brought despair
  Of ever winning maid so fair.

Frosties' Chorus—
  Last night his heart was all aglow,
  Last night he loved Virginia so;
  But wintry dawn has brought despair
  Of ever winning maid so fair.

Paolo—
  And now when days seem dreary,
  And hope begins to wane,
  My thoughts run back and I wonder—
  Will we ever meet again.

  Ever my heart is yearning
  For a voice that is far away:
  For a smile that is bright and cheering
  As sunshine and waves at play.

[Enter Cupid.]

Paolo—
  Good morrow, Cupid. (C.) I salute thee too.

Paolo—
  What errand brings you out amid the snow?
  Perchance you've lost your way, rash Cupid. (C.) No.
  The harbinger of spring to lovers true,
  I started out while yet the snowflakes flew.

Paolo—
  You're late I fear, my hopes have sunk too low.

Cupid—
  Let not your drooping spirits fail, faint heart
  Did never yet assume that valiant part
  That finds a way in spite of what befall
  And wins at length to beauty's citadel.

Paolo—
  Thanks, Cupid, for your words of lofty cheer;
  My heart responds, I see my pathway clear.

My Darling

  I'll take Virginia in my arms and kiss her
  On lips and cheek and brow;
  I'll tell her how I love her, miss her,
  And when, and why, and how.

  I'll draw my darling to my heart and hold her
  In fond and close embrace;
  I'll whisper softly how I've longed to fold her
  In all her girlish grace.

  I'll look into her eyes, their love light showing,
  Small need of words we'll know;
  For tender glances sprung from hearts aglowing,
  With meaning overflow.

Cupid—
  Such sentiments as these I quite approve:
  I'm hopeful for the outcome of your love.

Cupid (turning to Frosties)—
  Who are these furry folk that round us stand?
  They seem like members of the Frosties' band.

Frosties (in chorus)—
  We are the elves of the Northern Light,
  Of the ice blink and the snow;
  We deck the moss with a silver floss,
  And make the frost flowers grow.

  We place the fetters on stream and rill
  And encase the lakes and seas:
  We spread a carpet o'er vale and hill
  And drape the leafless trees.

Cupid—
  Won't you just tell dear Frosties
  In the language of song to-night
  Of those beauties and silent wonders
  That dwell in the Northern Light.

  Sing of some thrilling vision
  Of those beams in endless train,
  Like the bars of a thousand searchlights;
  Sing to us Frosties again.

The Northern Lights

Master Frosty—
  Across the starry arches of the heavens
  Like mighty spokes of a revolving wheel;
  Or organ pipes that grouped in stately silence
  Await some master's touch to wake their peal;

  The Northern Lights had strayed far down the vistas
  Of mellow air that mark the temperate zone;
  Their searchlight beams above the northern skyline
  A magic arch of changing lights had thrown.

  They marched across the sky in long procession:
  From east to west their standards were unfurled,
  Summoning visions of the Arctic winter
  And whalers prisoned in a frozen world.

  Then formed a tent, across the starry heavens,
  Woven of interlacing beams of light
  Flung lightly o'er the arches which supported,
  High overhead, the canopy of night.

  Once more a wide and undulating archway
  Expressed in quivering jets of frosty flame,
  Against the background of the midnight shadows,
  With play of countless brilliant flashes, came;

  While dark below flowed on the silent ocean:
  An anchored barque swayed slowly on the swell.
  And here and there a phosphorescent glimmer
  Showed where the trailing seaweed rose and fell.

Cupid—
  I thank you, Frosties, for your song and story
  About the Northern Lights in all their glory;
  But time is hasting on, I must be going.
  The sun through lengthened days is warmly glowing.
  Farewell Paolo too: what shall I say
  When I shall meet your maiden on my way?

Paolo—
  Haste, Cupid; haste: fly forth on rapid wing
  Bearing your dainty bow and feathered darts;
  And with the graceful practise of your arts
  Whisper into my darling's ear, or sing
  The sweetest messages that love can bring;
  And weave such tender dreams as spring imparts
  Where youth and beauty know each others hearts
  And feel the thrill that from such joy can spring.
  Sweet cherub, when you wing your arrow's flight,
  Speed it away with thoughts of love from me;
  And when it