saying, "I think it is the tail fin; I've seen 'em." The men laughed, and Professor Agassiz laughed with them, and patted the boy on the head, commending his sharp observation, and expressing the hope that he would know all about it in his manhood.

The boy was not satisfied with the turn of affairs. On the next day he went down to the wharf, a few rods behind the hotel, and laid himself flat on his face to watch for a school of the fish. They were not plentiful, but he had seen them in the harbor, when they swam directly under the wharf. He watched several hours, but no fish appeared. On the next day he went thither and watched equally long, but he only had disappointment for his pains. Undismayed, he repaired to the same spot on the third day, and, after the lapse of an hour, he was rewarded by the appearance, of the fishes he was seeking. The school swam directly under the wharf, in full view of his two large blue eyes. Imagine his interest and excitement as he made sure whether the back or tail fin was out of water. It was

A

the tail fin; he was positive of it. second sharp, square look convinced him that the professor was wrong.

Quick as his feet could carry him to the hotel, he reported to Agassiz, "A school of them fish is in the harbor." The professor hurried down to the wharf, and saw, with his own eyes, the "tail fin out of water." The boy's fact had upset his theory; and he complimented the lad for his intelligent observation. No one enjoyed the issue more than he. The episode had added another fact to his museum of facts a tail fin can be out of water. And the whole affair was in harmony with what he was ever teaching — that many things are uncertain, even about things we know. Great talents and learning are always modest.

W. M. THAYER.

THE BLUE AND THE GRAY

By the flow of the inland river,

Whence the fleets of iron have fled, Where the blades of the grave-grass quiver, Asleep are the ranks of the dead:

Under the sod and the dew,

Waiting the Judgment Day:
Under the one, the Blue;

Under the other, the Gray.

These in the robings of glory,
Those in the gloom of defeat,
All with the battle-blood gory,
In the dusk of eternity meet :
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment Day:
Under the laurel, the Blue;

Under the willow, the Gray.

From the silence of sorrowful hours,
The desolate mourners go,
Lovingly laden with flowers,

Alike for the friend and the foe:
Under the sod and the dew,

Waiting the Judgment Day: —

Under the roses, the Blue;

Under the lilies, the Gray.

So, with an equal splendor
The morning sun-rays fall,
With a touch impartially tender,

On the blossoms blooming for all:

Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment Day:
Broidered with gold, the Blue;
Mellowed with gold, the Gray.

So, when the summer calleth,
On forest and field of grain,
With an equal murmur falleth
The cooling drip of the rain: —
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment Day:
Wet with the rain, the Blue;
Wet with the rain, the Gray.

Sadly, but not with upbraiding,

The generous deed was done.
In the storm of the years that are fading
No braver battle was won: -
Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment Day:
Under the blossoms, the Blue;
Under the garlands, the Gray.

No more shall the war-cry sever,
Or the winding rivers be red:

They banish our anger forever,

When they laurel the graves of our dead!

Under the sod and the dew,
Waiting the Judgment Day:
Love and tears for the Blue;

Tears and love for the Gray.

FRANCIS MILES FINCH.

From Finch's "The Blue and the Gray and Other Verses." Copyright, 1909, by Henry Holt and Company.

ZENOBIA OF PALMYRA

MANY, many miles away toward the rising sun, in an oasis of the great Syrian desert, there was once a beautiful city called Palmyra. To-day only the ruins remain to show what it may have been, but sixteen centuries ago it was one of the most beautiful cities of the world. Nature and art combined to make it glorious. Like a glittering mirage out of the sand-swept desert arose its palaces and temples and grandly sculptured archways. With aqueducts and monuments and gleaming porticoes; with countless groves of palm trees and gardens full of verdure; with wells and fountains, market and circus; with broad streets stretching away to the city gates and lined on either side with magnificent colonnades