But he proceeded in a straightforward way to explain the object of his
visit: 'For the last thirty years,' he said, 'since my removal from
this city, I have lived in the West; naturally, I have been a constant
reader of Eastern papers, and particularly have I read every article I
have ever seen bearing the signature of "Jenny June." I have made many
efforts, but always without success, to ascertain who she was, and
whether the name was real or fictitious. Somehow I have never
forgotten the little girl I knew before I went West, and to whom I
gave a little volume of poems with something written on a page that
contained a stanza that I greatly admired about "Jenny June." I have
wondered if she had become the famous writer, and upon my return to my
native city, after so long an absence, I have sought you simply to ask
if you are that little girl.'"




The Fairies' Gifts

_By Ellen M. Staples_


To an English home one bright Yuletide
While Christmas bells rang loud and wide

Came a babe with the gentle eyes of a dove
And a face as fair as a thought of love.

"Now, God be thanked," the old nurse cried,
"That the child is born at Christmas-tide;