Robert of Lincoln went searching for food
To take to his love on her nest;
From bush and tree-top, from meadow and wood,
To pick it, and bring her the best.
He sprang from the edge of her nest below,
And sat on a twig that was nigh,
To sing her a song before he could go--
But sang her his last good-by.
* * * * *
Far out on the meadow a lad that day
Had gone to take sport with his gun,
Cheerily shooting the birds on his way,
And--Robert of Lincoln was one.
Since Robert of Lincoln went out to the wood
Three suns have gone down in the west:
And weary of waiting for him to bring food,
She died without leaving her nest.
* * * * *
Some of you have been very much interested in the pretty fan drills and
broom drills which have been in fashion lately. Now let me tell you
about the _mékés_, or dances of Feejee, of which an interesting
description is given by Miss C. F. Gordon Cumming in her book _At Home
in Feejee_.
"In one very odd dance," she says, "a queer, fluttering creature, with a
huge fan in each hand to represent wings, kept dancing round and round a
covey of cowering children, whom he bowled over two at a time. Then, as
they lay prone, he fanned them to life again, and so drove them along to
join the orchestra." The idea was supposed to be that of a bird of prey
providing for her young.
In another méké half the men carry fans adorned with long blue and white
streamers, and the other half brandish spears. At the end of every
movement each dancer holds his fan high above his head, and all together
utter a wild, piercing cry. After a while the fan half and the spear
half separate into opposing lines, and have a sham fight. In this the
spearsmen are defeated, and fall down as if dead, when the fan-bearers
bend over and fan them until they spring to their feet again.
In some of the movements the dancers are armed with the old carved war
clubs, which were their terrible weapons when the Feejeeans were
cannibals. During the last forty years Christianity has been introduced
into the islands, and the people who used to be fierce and cruel beyond
belief are now the meek and gentle followers of the Saviour.
But in their houses they still have the heirlooms which belonged to
their savage ancestors, and which the older ones have themselves fought
with when they were young. The missionaries have never tried to induce
them to abandon their graceful national games, and so they still
practice these beautiful dances, and they are a great feature at the
missionary meetings, to which the islanders throng, each bringing his
offering with him to present when the contributions are asked for.
One lovely dance represents the breaking of waves on a coral reef. In
this they leap and toss their heads, on which they wear loose turbans of
soft white native cloth, finished with floating scarf-like ends, which
flutter in the breeze. When they begin, it is usually slowly, and with
such precision that in the long lines the spears, clubs, or fans are
raised and lowered as if held by one man. In every dance they follow a
leader, and the leader is often a tiny child, quaintly dressed, and
executing every manoeuvre perfectly.
* * * * *
Members of the C. Y. P. R. U. will find in this number another one of
the interesting series of articles on music, by Mrs. John Lillie,
entitled "The Story of the Opera." Under the title of "The Titmouse
Family," Mrs. Helen S. Conant describes the characteristic habits and
ways of these merry and saucy little inhabitants of the bird world. Then
you must read about Prince Bismarck. Fancy one of the greatest statesmen
the world has ever known having been born on April-fools' Day! We wonder
how many of the boys will undertake to construct a magic lantern from
the directions given? To those that do we would say that they must not
get out of patience if they have trouble in making the soldering-iron
work effectively at first. A little patience will overcome all
difficulties.
* * * * *