"Yes, going again to-morrow," Peggy cried, all thousands to me if I can not use them to make her terrors blown to the winds. people better and happier?" "My Margaret, my little Peggy, my brave girl!" her father said, with tender pride. And so she did all she promised herself she would do for Peggy and Peggy's family. She alThe group she had left at the hotel had watched lowed her to go on selling her flowers while they lasther depart with no common interest. ed, watching her daily, growing to love her more and "What a really beautiful creature!" Mr. Wil- more, and to admire and respect her, as did all lard had said when she was out of hearing. "Yes, and what a beautiful soul!" cried the enthusiastic old lady "Now, I am going to be that child's fairy godmother. That is settled! You shall see! She shall have everything she needs. She shall have all her people taken care of and put in the way of helping themselves, and she shall not be separated from them, for that would break her heart; but she shall have an education, and all her gifts and graces shall be cultivated for her own joy and the joy of all who come in contact with her!" "I told her she was a fortunate child," said Mr. Willard, smiling, "but I hardly knew how fortunate; yet I think you are more fortunate in having the power to do these beautiful things." "Why, what is the use of money but for such things?" she answered; "Of what good are my who came near her. Before her garden was exhausted Peggy had made three hundred dollars for her father, a fortune, it seemed to them all! No more fears for the winter now! At home they fairly worshiped her, and she was so happy that she no longer envied the song-sparrow as it sang on the garden wall, the only bird that stays to sing the summer through. "I'm just as glad as you are," she said, as she watched it and listened to its sweet warble; and it turned its pretty head and looked at her with bright black eyes, as much as to say, "I know it, merry comrade, and you deserve it, too!" And this is what grew in Peggy's garden. She planted more than the flowers. She sowed seeds of patience and meekness and faithfulness, courage and hope and love,- and glorious was the blossoming thereof. JINGLES. BY A. R. WELLS. THE ORACULAR OWL. The oracular owl Is a very wise fowl. He sits on a limb By night and by day, And an eager assembly waits on him To listen to what the wise bird may say. I heard him discourse in the following way: "The sun soon will set in the west." "'T will be fair if the sky is not cloudy." "If a hundred are good only one can be best." "No gentleman's ever a rowdy." "Ah! ah!" cry the birds, "What a marvelcus fowl! Oh, who could excel this oracular owl?" THE GRIFFIN AND THE MINOR CANON. BY FRANK R. STOCKTON. OVER the great door of an old, old church which stood in a quiet town of a far-away land there was carved in stone the figure of a large griffin. The old-time sculptor had done his work with great care, but the image he had made was not a pleasant one to look at. It had a large head, with enormous open mouth and savage teeth; from its back arose great wings, armed with sharp hooks and prongs; it had stout legs in front, with projecting claws; but there were no legs behind, the body running out into a long and powerful tail, finished off at the end with a barbed point. This tail was coiled up under him, the end sticking up just back of his wings. The sculptor, or the people who had ordered this stone figure, had evidently been very much pleased with it, for little copies of it, also in stone, had been placed here and there along the sides of the church, not very far from the ground, so that people could easily look at them, and ponder on their curious forms. There were a great many other sculptures on the outside of this church,— saints, martyrs, grotesque heads of men, beasts, and birds, as well as those of other creatures which can not be named, because nobody knows exactly what they were; but none were so curious and interesting as the great griffin over the door, and the little griffins on the sides of the church. A long, long distance from the town, in the midst of dreadful wilds scarcely known to man, there dwelt the Griffin whose image had been put up over the church-door. In some way or other, the old-time sculptor had seen him, and afterward, to the best of his memory, had copied his figure in stone. The Griffin had never known this, until, hundreds of years afterward, he heard from a bird, from a wild animal, or in some manner which it is not now easy to find out, that there was a likeness of him on the old church in the distant town. Now, this Griffin had no idea how he looked. He had never seen a mirror, and the streams where he lived were so turbulent and violent that a quiet piece of water, which would reflect the image of any thing looking into it, could not be found. Being, as far as could be ascertained, the very last of his race, he had never seen another griffin. Therefore it was, that, when he heard of this stone image of himself, he became very anxious to know what he looked like, and at last he determined to go to the old church, and see for himself what manner of being he was. So he started off from the dread ful wilds, and flew on and on until he came to the countries inhabited by men, where his appearance in the air created great consternation; but he alighted nowhere, keeping up a steady flight until he reached the suburbs of the town which had his image on its church. Here, late in the afternoon, he alighted in a green meadow by the side of a brook, and stretched himself on the grass to rest. His great wings were tired, for he had not made such a long flight in a century, or more. The news of his coming spread quickly over the town, and the people, frightened nearly out of their wits by the arrival of so extraordinary a visitor, fled into their houses, and shut themselves up. The Griffin called loudly for some one to come to him, but the more he called, the more afraid the people were to show themselves. At length he saw two laborers hurrying to their homes through the fields, and in a terrible voice he commanded them to stop. Not daring to disobey, the men stood, trembling. "What is the matter with you all?" cried the Griffin. "Is there not a man in your town who is brave enough to speak to me?" "I think," said one of the laborers, his voice shaking so that his words could hardly be understood," that perhaps the Minor Canon — would come." "Go, call him, then!" said the Griffin; "I want to see him.” The Minor Canon, who filled a subordinate position in the old church, had just finished the afternoon services, and was coming out of a side door, with three aged women who had formed the weekday congregation. He was a young man of a kind disposition, and very anxious to do good to the people of the town. Apart from his duties in the church, where he conducted services every weekday, he visited the sick and the poor, counseled and assisted persons who were in trouble, and taught a school composed entirely of the bad children in the town with whom nobody else would have anything to do. Whenever the people wanted anything done for them, they always went to the Minor Canon. Thus it was that the laborer thought of the young priest when he found that some one must come and speak to the Griffin. The Minor Canon had not heard of the strange event, which was known to the whole town except himself and the three old women, and when he was "THE GRIFFIN SETTLED DOWN BEFORE THE CHURCH AND GAZED EARNESTLY AT HIS SCULPTURED LIKENESS." kept waiting so long; and nobody knows what will happen if you don't hurry to him." The poor Minor Canon would rather have had his hand cut off than go out to meet an angry griffin; but he felt that it was his duty to go, for it would be a woful thing if injury should come to VOL. XII.-57. The Minor Canon did not feel very courageous, but he bowed his head. "Is this the town," said the Griffin, "where there is a church with a likeness of myself over one of the doors?" The Minor Canon looked at the frightful figure The Minor Canon was glad enough to take his leave, and hurried into the town. In front of the church he found a great many people assembled of the Griffin and saw that it was, without doubt, exactly like the stone image on the church. "Yes," he said, "you are right." "Well, then," said the Griffin, "will you take to hear his report of his interview with the Griffin. me to it? I wish very much to see it." 66 The Minor Canon instantly thought that if the Griffin entered the town without the people knowing what he came for, some of them would probably be frightened to death, and so he sought to gain time to prepare their minds. "It is growing dark, now," he said, very much afraid, as he spoke, that his words might enrage When they found that he had not come to spread ruin and devastation, but simply to see his stony likeness on the church, they showed neither relief nor gratification, but began to upbraid the Minor Canon for consenting to conduct the creature into the town. "What could I do?" cried the young man. "If I should not bring him he would come him "THE GRIFFIN'S APPEARANCE IN THE AIR CREATED GREAT CONSTERNATION." the Griffin, "and objects on the front of the church cannot be seen clearly. It will be better to wait until morning, if you wish to get a good view of the stone image of yourself." self and, perhaps, end by setting fire to the town with his red-hot tail." "That will suit me very well," said the Griffin. "I see that you are a man of good sense. I am tired, and I will take a nap here on this soft grass, while I cool my tail in the little stream that runs near me. The end of my tail gets red-hot when I am angry or excited, and it is quite warm now. So you may go, but be sure and come early tomorrow morning, and show me the way to the church." Still the people were not satisfied, and a great many plans were proposed to prevent the Griffin from coming into the town. Some elderly persons urged that the young men should go out and kill him; but the young men scoffed at such a ridiculous idea. Then some one said that it would be a good thing to destroy the stone image so that the Griffin would have no excuse for entering the town; and this idea was received with such favor that many of the people ran for hammers, chisels, and crowbars, with which to tear down and break THE GRIFFIN AND THE MINOR CANON. up the stone griffin. But the Minor Canon resisted this plan with all the strength of his mind and body. He assured the people that this action would enrage the Griffin beyond measure, for it would be impossible to conceal from him that his image had been destroyed during the night. But the people were so determined to break up the stone griffin that the Minor Canon saw that there was nothing for him to do but to stay there and protect it. All night he walked up and down in front of the church-door, keeping away the men who brought ladders, by which they might mount to the great stone griffin, and knock it to pieces with their hammers and crowbars. After many hours the people were obliged to give up their attempts, and went home to sleep; but the Minor Canon remained at his post till early morning, and then he hurried away to the field where he had left the Griffin. The monster had just awakened, and rising to his fore-legs and shaking himself, he said that he was ready to go into the town. The Minor Canon, therefore, walked back, the Griffin flying slowly through the air, at a short distance above the head of his guide. Not a person was to be seen in the streets, and they proceeded directly to the front of the church, where the Minor Canon pointed out the stone griffin. The real Griffin settled down in the little square before the church and gazed earnestly at his sculptured likeness. For a long time he looked at it. First he put his head on one side, and then he put it on the other; then he shut his right eye and gazed with his left, after which he shut his left eye and gazed with his right. Then he moved a little to one side and looked at the image, then he moved the other way. said to the Minor Canon, who had been standing After a while he by all this time: "It is, it must be, an excellent likeness! That breadth between the eyes, that expansive forehead, those massive jaws! I feel that it must resemble me. If there is any fault to find with it, it is that the neck seems a little stiff. But that is nothing. It is an admirable likeness, admirable!" The Griffin sat looking at his image all the morning and all the afternoon. The Minor Canon had been afraid to go away and leave him, and had hoped all through the day that he would soon be satisfied with his inspection and fly away home. But by evening the poor young man was utterly exhausted, and felt that he must go away to eat and sleep. He frankly admitted this fact to the Griffin, and asked him if he would not like something to eat. He said this because he felt obliged in politeness to do so, but as soon as he had spoken the words, he was seized with dread lest the 899 monster should demand half a dozen babies, or between the equinoxes. at the autumnal equinox I take a good meal, and little square before the church, and remained The next day the Griffin came again to the there until evening, steadfastly regarding the stone griffin over the door. The Minor Canon seemed very glad to see him; but the young came once or twice to look at him, and the Griffin clergymen could not stay as he had done before, for he had many duties to perform. Nobody went to Canon's house, and anxiously asked him how long the church, but the people came to the Minor the Griffin was going to stay. he will soon be satisfied with regarding his stone "I do not know," he answered, "but I think likeness, and then he will go away." after morning he came to the church, but after a But the Griffin did not go away. Morning time he did not stay there all day. He seemed and followed him about as he pursued his various to have taken a great fancy to the Minor Canon, avocations. He would wait for him at the side door of the church, for the Minor Canon held services every day, morning and evening, though nobody came now. said to himself, "I must be found at my post.” "If any one should come," he When the young man came out, the Griffin would accompany him in his visits to the sick and the the school-house where the Minor Canon was poor, and would often look into the windows of schools were closed, but the parents of the Minor teaching his unruly scholars. All the other Canon's scholars forced them to go to school, because they were so bad they could not endure them all day at home,- griffin or no griffin. it must be said they generally behaved very well looked through the school-room window. when that great monster sat up on his tail and But When it was perceived that the Griffin showed no sign of going away, all the people who were higher officers of the church had fled away during able to do so left the town. The canons and the the first day of the Griffin's visit, leaving behind only the Minor Canon and some of the men who opened the doors and swept the church. All the and traveled to distant parts, and only the workcitizens who could afford it shut up their houses ing people and the poor were left behind. After a while these ventured to go about and attend to |