Thare the bullrushes growed, and the cattails so tall,

And the sunshine and shadder fell over it all;

And it mottled the worter with amber and gold

Tel the glad lilies rocked in the ripples that rolled;

And the snake-feeder's four gauzy wings fluttered by

Like the ghost of a daisy dropped out of the sky,

Or a wownded apple-blossom in the breeze's controle

As it cut acrost some orchurd to'rds the old swimmin'-hole.

Oh! the old swimmin'-hole! When I last saw the place,

The scenes was all changed, like the change in my face;

The bridge of the railroad now crosses the spot

Whare the old divin'-log lays sunk and fergot.

And I stray down the banks whare the trees ust to be—

But never again will theyr shade shelter me!

And I wish in my sorrow I could strip to the soul.

And dive off in my grave like the old swimmin'-hole.

Their little jaws dropped!

Their little eyes distended!

Their little ears stood erect!

They fairly bristled with an intense attention.

You said the last word, of the last line.

Then—absolute, unbroken—Silence!

Finally—but without another word—you reached

down, patted the youngest one on his wet curly Locks.

The Wizard whispered to the driver "Go."

As the team, in a brisk trot, started away.

you, still standing, coatless, hatless, waved your

hand—in that quick little jerky fashion peculiar

to you—to those little naked Urchins.

With a mighty Shout, they ran back to the Pool,

and gave a rapid-firing Exhibition of the Single

Dive; the Double Dive; and one—a dare-devil—the Triple Dive!

What a Memory, what a Priceless Memory, you must

have given those Boys of Martinsville, that Ideal

Summer Afternoon, in the Long While Ago!

Martinsville! To you of Blessed Memory!

For the sake of an early, enduring, Friendship,

did you not encrust one Jap Miller of

Martinsville with no mean verse?

And did it not run something like this?

Jap Miller down at Martinsville's the blamedest feller yit!

When he starts in a-talkin' other folks is apt to quit!—

'Pears like that mouth o' his'n wuzn't made fer nothin' else

But jes' to argify 'em down and gether in their pelts:

He'll talk you down on tariff; er he'll talk you down on tax.

And prove the pore man pays 'em all and them's about the fac's!

Religen, law, er politics, prize-fightin', er base-ball

Jes' tetch Jap up a little and he'll post you 'bout 'em all.

W'y, that-air blame Jap Miller, with his keen sircastic fun,

Has got more friends than ary candidate 'at ever run!

Don't matter what his views is, when he states the same to you,

They allus coincide with your'n, the same as two and two:

You can't take issue with him—er, at least, they haint no sense

In startin' in to down him, so you better not commence.—

The best way's jes' to listen, like your humble servant does.