Only A Christmas Rose.

Till the Death Angel comes in his own time . 'Tis cold about us HOAV out by the river Which Avidens its boundaries down towards tbe sea ; The storm birds are hovering hither and thither , But what are life ' s storms to her and to me ?

I'll wait for her , live for her , strive to do bravely ; Shield her from trouble , and give her repose ; I leave her at father ' s door while she says gravely , And sadly but sweetly , my little Rose :

" Good-bye , come and see me once more ere you leave us , Father will gladly your friendshi p accept ; And when you come again , oh do not grieve us : " My poor little maiden said no more , but Avent .

A shadow , an icy blast seemed to pass by the porch ; A nameless misery came like a dream , And settled upon us both as if Death ' s flaming torch Had marked out a A'ictiin with its lurid gleam .

: Good-bye , my own darling , " I said and I kissed her , — "A soldier's first word is duty , you knoAVTo-morrow my furlough is ended , but next year , Oh many a walk by the river Ave'll go . "

* * * * a- # * * * Ah ! I came back again to that sweet Orwell river A year or two after , perchance it Avas more ; I found that tbe cruel blasts of that harsh winter Had robbed life of happy days for me in store .

There are flowers in heaven , —I know and I pray for The day that may take me where no Avinter snows

Only A Christmas Rose.

Shall ever more cover tbe grave of xny lover ; And I shall see once again my little Rose . March 31 , 1876 . EMRA HOLMES .

The Old Folks' Party.

THE OLD FOLKS' PARTY .

( Concluded from page 4 " 24 . ) AVEDNESDAY eA ening came at last , and a little before the hour of ei ght , five A enerable figures , more or less shrouded , might bave been seen making their way from different parts of tbe village toAvard tbe FelloAvs mansion . The families of the members of

tbe club were necessarily in tbe secret , and Avatcbed their exit with considerable laughter , from behind blinds . But to the rest of the villagers it has never ceased to be a puzzle who those elderly strangers were Avho appeared that evening and Avere neA'er before or since A » isible . For once the

Argus-eyed curiosity of a Yankee village , compared with which French or Austrian police are easy to baffle , was fairly eluded . Eight o ' clock was the hour at which the old folks' party began , and the reader Avill need a fresh introduction to the company which was assembled at that time in Mary

FelloAvs ' s parlour Mary sat by her grandmother , AVIIO from time to time regarded her in a half-puzzled manner , as if it required an effort of her reasoning powers to re-assure her that the effect she saw was an illusion . The girl ' s broAvn hair was

gathered back under a lace cap , and all that appeared outside it Avas thickly poAVdered . She wore spectacles , and the warm tint of ber cheeks bad given place to the opaque saffron hue of age . She sat with her hands in her lap , their fresh colour

and dimpled contour concealed by black lace half-gloves . The fulness of her young bosom Avas carefully disguised by the arrangement of the severely simple black dress she wore , AVMCII Avas also in other respects studiously adapted to conceal , by

its stiff and angular lines , tbe luxuriant contour of her figure . As she rose and advanced to Avelcome Henry and Jessie , Avho were the last to arrive , it was Avith a striking imitation of the tremulously precipitate step of age . Jessie being rather taller than the others , had affected the stoop of age very