ANOTHER

BROWNIE BOOK

BY
PALMER COX

PUBLISHED BY
THE CENTURY CO.
NEW-YORK

Copyright, 1890, by THE CENTURY CO.

[CONTENTS.]

THE BROWNIES' SNOW MAN.

When snowdrifts blocked the country roads,

And trees were bending with their loads,

The wind grew mild which had been raw,

And winter yielded to a thaw;

That night the Brownies stood to stare

In wonder on the village square.

Said one, "This plot where drifts now roll

Seems like an acre from the Pole.

I have a scheme which nothing lacks:

Now while the snow so closely packs,

And may be molded in the hand,

We'll build a statue tall and grand

Which here shall stand at morning prime,

To be the wonder of the time."

Another cried, "That suits us all.

To work let every member fall.

When once the task we undertake

Be sure no dwarfish man we'll make;

But one that proudly may look down

On half the buildings in the town.

I know the place where builders keep

Their benches while the snow is deep;

The poles, and ladders too, are there,

To use when working high in air.

While some for these with me will fly,

Let some their hands to snow apply,

And not a feature of the man

Shall be neglected in our plan.

"You know the night, some time ago,

We tramped so far through drifted snow

To ornament with quaint design

The windows of a mansion fine;

And how, on lengthy ladders there

And scaffold swinging in the air,

We worked our brushes with a will

From icy cap to window-sill,

And made the people, great and small,

Believe Jack Frost had done it all?—

To-night we'll work as well, and show

A grand result before we go."

The snow that night was at its best,

And held its shape however pressed;

Like dough beneath the baker's hand

It seemed to answer each demand.

The rolls, when tumbled to and fro,

Increased with every turning, so

First like a cushion on they sped,

Then like a pillow, next, a bed,

Until the snow, adhering there,

Would leave the grass or pebbles bare.

As higher blocks of snow were laid

Still higher scaffolding was made,

And ladders brought to use instead

Of those too short to reach the head.

Thus grew the form from hour to hour;

For Brownies' hands have wondrous power,

And let them turn to what they will

Surprising work will follow still.

Some shaped the legs or smoothed the waist,

Some saw plump arms were rightly placed;

The head was fixed with proper pose,

Well fashioned were both ears and nose.

So close thronged Brownies high and low,

A looker-on would hardly know

What plan or shape the busy band

Of cunning Brownies had in hand.

But plan they had, and deftness too,

As well was seen when they were through.

The rounded form and manly port

Showed modeling of rarest sort,

While charcoal eyes, so well designed

They seemed to read the very mind,

Long icicles for beard and hair,

Were last affixed with taste and care.

And when the poles around the base

Had been returned each to its place,

And every ladder, bench, and board

They had in use, again was stored,

The Brownies stood around awhile

To gaze upon their work and smile.

Each points at head, or hand, or toe,

His special handiwork to show.

In truth, they had good reason there

With joy and pride to stand and stare,

And contemplate the object white

Which loomed above to such a height,

And not unlike some hero old,

For courage famed, or action bold,

With finger pointed out, as though,

To indicate the coming foe.

But morning light soon came to chase

The Brownies to their hiding-place.

And children on their way to school

Forgot their lessons and the rule

While gazing on the statue tall

That seemed to guard the County Hall.

And after drifts had left the square,

When roads and shingle-roofs were bare,

The Brownies' statue, like a tower,

Still bravely faced both wind and shower—

Though sinking slowly all the while,

And losing corpulence and style,

Till gardeners, on the first of May,

With shovels pitched the man away.

THE BROWNIES IN THE ACADEMY.

The Brownies once with capers spry

To an Academy drew nigh,

Which, founded by a generous hand,

Spread light and learning through the land.

The students, by ambition fired,

And men of science had retired;

So Brownies, through their mystic power,

Now took advantage of the hour.

A battery was soon displayed,

And strange experiments were made;

Electric currents were applied

To meadow-frogs they found inside,

Which sage professors, nights and days,

Had gathered up, in various ways.

To making pills some turned the mind,

While some to Dentistry inclined,

And aching teeth, both small and large,

Were there extracted free of charge.

More gazed where phrenologic charts

Showed heads partitioned off in parts.

Said one: "Let others knowledge gain

Through which to conquer ache and pain,

But by these charts I'll do my best

To learn where Fancy makes her nest."

Another cried, as he surveyed

The bumps that were so well arrayed:

"These heads exhibit, full and clear,

Which one to love and whom to fear;

Who is with noble thoughts inspired,

And who with hate or envy fired;

The man as timid as the hare,

The man destructive as the bear.

While choosing partners, one may find

It well to keep these charts in mind."

A microscope at length, they found;

And next, the Brownies gathered round

A stereopticon machine

That cast its rays upon a screen.

A thousand times it magnified,

Till, stretching out on every side,

An object large and larger spread,

And filled the gazing group with dread.

The locust, beetle, and the bee

Soon gained proportions strange to see,

And seemed like monsters close at hand

To put an end to all the band.

Ere long a door was open swung,

To show some skeletons that hung

From hook and peg, which caused a shout

Of fear to rise from those about.

Said one: "Thus Science works its way

Through old remains from day to day;

And those who during life could find

No time, perhaps, to aid mankind,

May, after all, in some such place

For years assist the human race

By giving students, as you see,

Some knowledge of Anatomy."

At other times, all breathless grouped

O'er crucibles, the Brownies stooped

To separate, with greatest skill,

The grains which cure from those that kill;

While burning acids, blazes blue,

And odors strong confused the crew.

Cried one: "Through trials hard to bear,

The student must himself prepare,

Though mixing paint, or mixing pill—

Or mixing phrases, if you will—

No careless study satisfies

If one would to distinction rise;

The minds that shed from pole to pole

The light of years, as round we roll,

Are first enriched through patient toil,

And kindled by the midnight oil."

Thus, spicing logic with a joke,

They chatted on till morning broke;

And then with wild and rapid race

The Brownie band forsook the place.

THE BROWNIES IN THE ORCHARD.

HE autumn nights began to fill

The mind with thoughts of winter chill,

When Brownies in an orchard met,

Where ripened fruit was hanging yet.

Said one, "The apples here, indeed,

Must now be mellow to the seed;

And, ere another night, should be

Removed at once from every tree.

For any evening now may call

The frost to nip and ruin all."

Another quickly answer made:

"This man is scarcely worthy aid;

'Tis said his harsh and cruel sway

Has turned his children's love away.

"If this be true, 't would serve him right"

If frost should paint his orchard white."

"It matters not who owns the place,

Or why neglect thus shows its face,"

A third replied; "the fact is clear

That fruit should hang no longer here.

If worthy people here reside

Then will our hands be well applied;

And if unworthy folks we serve,

Still better notice we'll deserve."

"You speak our minds so full and fair,"

One loudly cried, "that speech we'll spare.

But like the buttons on your back,

We'll follow closely in your track,

And do our part with willing hand,

Without one doubting if or and."

Kind deeds the Brownies often do

Unknown to me as well as you;

The wounded hare, by hunters maimed,

Is sheltered and supplied and tamed.

The straying cat they sometimes find

Half-starved, and chased by dogs unkind,

And bring it home from many fears

To those who mourned its loss with tears.

And to the bird so young and bare,

With wings unfit to fan the air,

That preying owls had thought to rend

The Brownie often proves a friend.

Then bags and baskets were brought out

From barns and buildings round about,

With kettles, pans, and wooden-ware,

That prying eyes discovered there;

Nay, even blankets from the beds,