His gentle time and skill in making toys — As drums and trumpets, such as swell the din Of mimic battle fought with swords of tin — And tiny lutes, whose notes full oft inspire In after years, to string the charmed lyre — No trifler's art. (The maxim here unfurl' d Is, please the child and you will please the world.) Once as he lingered in the village street To sport with children he had chanced to meet (For in his nature he was pure and mild. Like all the truly great, himself a child), Good Father Haydn to himself thus spoke : " Oft has your ardor for the grand awoke Such strains as might a worldly mind elate, And please the learn'd and men of high estate ; Now 'wake a grander symphony, to please And move the hearts of such dear ones as these, And with such instruments their hearts to move As in their childish habits they approve." The morning brought the " Children's Symphony," Eight tiny trinkets chiming in their glee, Led by the abler, as you see at school The master foremost with his rod and rule; The rattle, whistle and the cymbelstern Rattled and piped and chattered in their turn ; The cuckoo, quail and night owl could be heard Whooping their best to be the better bird ; And drum and trumpet, with much clamor blest Were not a whit more bashful than the rest. 19 290 OSTRICH FEA THERS. First an allegro, brisk as song of bird, In which a cuckoo's cheering notes are heard ; And then a trio and a minuet Their graceful tones like sparkling jewels set And then a presto comes to close it all, Which cannot fail to please both great and small. Although upon such playthings, still the part To be performed will be no less an art. And should some small frightened trumpet shriek, Or bashful whistle lose its voice and squeak, Or some presumptuous little would-be drum Should be puffed up, and then collaps'd and dumb ; Don't let such little things excite your wonder, You know, dear friends, great artists sometimes blunder. OSTRICH FEATHERS. CURLING, CLEANING AND DYEING. ' First, if the feather has only been exposed to the damp air — not actu- ally wet — you will only require a silver butter-knife to curl it with. But if it has been wet remove it from the bonnet and hold it over a warm stove, right side down, gently waving it. Soon the filaments will expand and curl back a little. Now draw the knife-blade gently along the under side of each filament, commencing at the point of the feather, using care, as too sharp a stroke will cut the filament, and too swift a motion will curl too tightly. When the feather has been curled, per- haps the stem will need some bending. Use a stout case-knife for this, drawing along the under side of the rib. If it is a long plume, hold it around a warm stove-pipe, and perhaps a warm lamp chimney will be what is wanted for the very end. If so unfortunate as to have broken the stem, and it is not altogether separated, get some fine bonnet wire and attach along the under side of the stem with long but- ton-hole stitches, using silk to match the feathers.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

His gentle time and skill in making toys — As drums and trumpets, such as swell the din Of mimic battle fought with swords of tin — And tiny lutes, whose notes full oft inspire In after years, to string the charmed lyre — No trifler's art. (The maxim here unfurl' d Is, please the child and you will please the world.) Once as he lingered in the village street To sport with children he had chanced to meet (For in his nature he was pure and mild. Like all the truly great, himself a child), Good Father Haydn to himself thus spoke : " Oft has your ardor for the grand awoke Such strains as might a worldly mind elate, And please the learn'd and men of high estate ; Now 'wake a grander symphony, to please And move the hearts of such dear ones as these, And with such instruments their hearts to move As in their childish habits they approve." The morning brought the " Children's Symphony," Eight tiny trinkets chiming in their glee, Led by the abler, as you see at school The master foremost with his rod and rule; The rattle, whistle and the cymbal stern Rattled and piped and chattered in their turn ; The cuckoo, quail and night owl could be heard Whooping their best to be the better bird ; And drum and trumpet, with much clamor blest Were not a whit more bashful than the rest. 290 OSTRICH FEATHERS. First an allegro, brisk as song of bird, In which a cuckoo's cheering notes are heard ; And then a trio and a minuet Their graceful tones like sparkling jewels set And then a presto comes to close it all, Which cannot fail to please both great and small. Although upon such playthings, still the part To be performed will be no less an art. And should some small frightened trumpet shriek, Or bashful whistle lose its voice and squeak, Or some presumptuous little would-be drum Should be puffed up, and then collaps'd and dumb ; Don't let such little things excite your wonder, You know, dear friends, great artists sometimes blunder. OSTRICH FEATHERS. CURLING, CLEANING AND DYEING. ' First, if the feather has only been exposed to the damp air — not actually wet — you will only require a silver butter-knife to curl it with. But if it has been wet remove it from the bonnet and hold it over a warm stove, right side down, gently waving it. Soon the filaments will expand and curl back a little. Now draw the knife-blade gently along the under side of each filament, commencing at the point of the feather, using care, as too sharp a stroke will cut the filament, and too swift a motion will curl too tightly. When the feather has been curled, perhaps the stem will need some bending. Use a stout case-knife for this, drawing along the under side of the rib. If it is a long plume, hold it around a warm stove-pipe, and perhaps a warm lamp chimney will be what is wanted for the very end. If so unfortunate as to have broken the stem, and it is not altogether separated, get some fine bonnet wire and attach along the under side of the stem with long button-hole stitches, using silk to match the feathers.

The household (of the Detroit free press)