LOST.

Through the forest deep had she wandered far,

Yet the little feet dragged on

In the weary way till the sunbeams.paled

And told that the day was done.

Did a shadow fall on the childish brow,

And her face grow paler still,

At the gath'ring shades 'neath the autumn leaves,
And the twilight grey and chill?

Who knows of the dread in the baby-heart?
Who knows of the cries in vain ?

Who knows of the wails for the mother-love
To soothe the hunger and pain?

No soul ever knew, for the waxen lids

Were closed when they found her there
With her wee face hid in the autumn leaves
And the damp dews on her hair.

No soul ever knew, for the little hands

To the pallid face tight pressed

Were just as cold-when they bore her home
To the sobbing mother's breast.

Ah, none ever knew! And the baby-soul
Had found, for itself, the way

To the Shepherd's arms, where the little lambs
Are gathered, no more to stray.

FROSTED TREES.

1

BY R. D. S.

At this period of the year many leave the country for the city. They prefer its bustle and excitement to the sober quietness of the country. They see only the dark side of the picture. The grass beneath its covering of snow is dead; the flowers that looked so gladly at the summer sun are gone, and the wind sighs wearily through the withered leaves, which he was wont to toss so playfully in his strong arms.

And yet amid the general desolation, there are scenes of beauty which once seen are remembered for a lifetime. Such a spectacle is that phenomenon known as Frosted Trees. It is caused by rain

freezing on the branches of trees.

beautiful appearance.

This frozen coat presents a very

On one occasion I climbed a mountain whose trees were frosted. The rays of sunlight, science would say, were unequally refracted by the ice and gave different colors. I prefer to think that the spirit of beauty had been there, and decked the trees with jewels, so that they shone with all the colors of the rainbow; those nearest blazing like the sun, while the distant ones shone with the calm lustre of the stars.

Nature had again

New Year. They
The sun growing

I well remember the next New Year morning. adorned the trees with gems to greet the glad shone beautifully in the clear morning sunlight. covetous, stole these gems away, and then blushing to think of what he had done, hastened to hide his face in the west. The poor trees despoiled of their ornaments, poured forth their woe in tears.

COLLEGE POLITICS.

Men have always followed leaders. The disposition to do this is almost universal, the exceptions, of course, being those who assume the position of leader.

Liberty, Independence of thought, Republican principles, and such kindred topics are fertile subjects for the orator and the essayist in college as well as out of it; and as one listens to the eloquence of the enthutiast while he discourses of his favorite theme, he may be persuaded for the time that all men are verily equal, and that all are sovereigns, born to rule. This theory as applied to our American institutions is a good one and cannot be too often nor too firmly impressed upon our minds as a practical principle.

But good theories are too often made the guise under which their advocates seek personal aggrandizement. So in this case. We all know that the patriotism which seems to fire the politician's breast and to be his guiding star, is often only the purest devotion to his own selfish interest and that his noisy appeals for independence of thought, severance of party ties and adherence to principle, are only so many appeals for the support of his audience in securing himself a desirable berth, making the semblance of virtue a cloak for the meanest selfishness and hypocrisy.

This plan works well until the designs of the schemer become known, and then he must step down and out, while another takes the support which he once received. The political complexion of al. most every community is determined mainly by the wishes of a few men and others are so unsuspecting as to think they are acting independently while thinking and voting just as these leaders wish them

to.

College has its politics, its politicians and its caucuses; its parties and their strifes, all of which proceed very much as they do in the political world.

One would naturally suppose that in so intelligent a community as a college, there would be no need of caucuses and "wire-pulling," or rather no use in them, but that men would think and act independently, and that worth would be appreciated and rewarded without any such means. This is not the case.

The aspiring and the ambitious have a field in college which is scarcely excelled for political discipline.

The wires are generally laid with care and manipulated with skill. The candidate who secures an election by these means must of course, be a person of some acknowledged ability, even though that ability be mainly in laying and successfully prosecuting the schemes whereby his own superiority over his rivals is made known on election day, often to the surprise if not the disgust of those who know the merits of the candidates best, but are not posted as to the latest political

manoeuvre.

In such times it is always well for the aspirant to have at his bidding the services of an active corps of disinterested (?) friends who will undertake to do the delicate part of the work for him, if he happens to be afflicted with an excess of modesty, (as he usually is); but success is all the more easy if his modesty can be so subdued as to allow him to solicit votes and influences for himself, and then quietly to subside after a thorough canvass of the field, or to join his adherents in the cry for a fair and honest election, the very thing which he, most of all, would dread, if it were even possible.

Every one who has been a student for a few years in any college, with his eyes open, has seen our model politician making himself conspicuous at every opportunity, full of eloquence, wit, patriotism, and overflowing with every virtue whenever a point can be gained in his favor, or a few votes secured by so doing. Sometimes he is

magnanimous and devotes his superior powers to the interest of a friend, or some one who will return the compliment on some future occasion against a common rival.

The college politician may gain his end by means of combinations between different parties or societies, which for the time unite their interests and their strength in a previously-concerted plan of action.

In both cases the processes and principles are the same with a few variations. When these things are practiced so often, and when men of influence and supposed integrity will use every means to defraud and deceive their fellows, or secretly to malign them, and then have the face to approach with bland smiles and professed friendship those whom they have thus treated, it is not strange that there should always be those who withdraw from politics in college as well as in the world without. I would not leave the impression upon any one that this is the way in which college elections are always, or even most commonly conducted; but that it is quite too common, the experience of ourselves and of all college students will abundantly testify.

The wonder in such cases is not that some should be anxious to get honor or distinction, but that they can resort to such means as ought to bring the blush to any cheek but that of a veteran politician, to gain their ends; and that students will so often allow themselves to become either mere tools in the hands of aspiring officeseekers, or the unsuspecting victims of their own prejudices or of the college politician's artful tricks.

TO WIN.

BY W.

This word embraces every pursuit of life. It is the secret spring of every action, it is confined to no age or nation, or locality, and is satisfied with no conquest. Failure brings disappointment and sorrow, success joy and gladness. The little child at his simple games exhibits his pleasure when he wins. The college student prides himself, not only in excelling his class, but in beating his adversary at ball or at chess. In manhood's prime to win the heart of

her he loves is his richest solace, and his most endearing blessing. The athletic who enters the ring as a professional prize fighter, after months of careful and painful training, strives for the mastery, and the war-worn soldier glories in his victory, even though he wade through human blood. At the Olympic games the runners ran for a crown of laurel, and when won, the glory of the conquest, continued in unchanging brightness, long after the leaves were withered and dead.

The Roman soldier's greatest ambition was to win the imperial purple, and a Roman Emperor's a triumphant entry with his captives "marching to the music of their chains." In the gladiatorial contest the presence of female beauty nerved the combatants in their extremest peril, and her applause greeted the victor with the most thrilling and profound sensation.

Alexander wept because there were no more worlds to conquer ; Mahomet in the full tide of success could have petitioned Alla for a terrestrial immortality, and St. Paul's highest joy was that he had won the crown of celestial glory.

Through the brain of every student, who bids adieu to his Alma Mater, successive victories move. He longs to enter the great arena of life, and grasp the golden prize. He soon discovers, that in order to attain either wealth, honor or intellectual eminence, all the powers of his mind and the energies of a strong frame must be enlisted to their utmost.

He feels that his education has just begun, and that his previous course of study is the discipline essential for success. Divinity, Medicine, and Law, are the broad avenues to eminence, and he naturally selects that to which his bent of mind is most adapted.

If he choose the law, the proud positions of great jurists and their intellectual superiority fascinate him and stimulate his action. But he must commence below if he would ascend the ladder of fame. He cannot intuitively attain that elevation. The dry study of law, its meaningless jargon, its quaint old phraseology, its rugged strong Saxon, its presumptions which aid the truth, its estoppels which exclude it, its feoffs and estates are the landmarks of a new road to him, along which he must slowly and laboriously travel before his forensic eloquence can be heard, or the judicial ermine can be reached.