Brownies: Their Book

<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</SPAN></span>As oft they do, in quest of fun.<br/></div> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poem and illustration"> <tr><td align='left'>But, ere they turned to leave the strand,<br/> They made a vow with lifted hand<br/> That every year, when summer's glow<br/> Had warmed the ocean spread below,<br/> They'd journey far from grove and glen<br/> To sport in rolling surf again.<br/></td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/i101a.png" width-obs="127" height-obs="123" alt="Policeman looking at mess" title="" /> </td></tr> </table></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <h2>THE BROWNIES AND THE<br/> SPINNING-WHEEL.</h2> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="poem and drawing"> <tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/i101b.png" width-obs="175" height-obs="248" alt="Snarled string" title="" /> </td><td align='left'>One evening, with the falling dew,<br/> Some Brownies 'round a cottage drew.<br/> Said one: "I've learned the reason why<br/> We miss the 'Biddy, Biddy!' cry,<br/> That every morning brought a score<br/> Of fowls around this cottage door;<br/> 'T is rheumatism most severe<br/> That keeps the widow prisoned here.<br/> Her sheep go bleating through the field,<br/> In quest of salt no herb can yield,<br/> To early roost the fowls withdraw<br/> While each bewails an empty craw.<br/> And sore neglect you may discern<br/> On every side, where'er you turn.<br/> If aid come to the widow's need,<br/> From Brownies' hands it must proceed."<br/></td></tr> </table></div> <div class='poem'> Another said: "The wool, I know,<br/> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</SPAN></span>Went through the mill a month ago.<br/> I saw them when they bore the sack<br/> Tip yonder hill, a wondrous pack<br/> That caught the branches overhead,<br/> And round their heels the gravel spread.<br/> Her spinning-wheel is lying there<br/> In fragments quite beyond repair.<br/> A passing goat, with manners bold,<br/> Mistook it for a rival old,<br/></div> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i102.png" width-obs="515" height-obs="511" alt="Outside cottage" title="" /></div> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</SPAN></span></p> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poem and drawing"> <tr><td align='left' valign='top'><ANTIMG src="images/i103a.png" width-obs="85" height-obs="361" alt="Looking through fence" title="" /> </td><td align='left'>And knocked it 'round for half an hour<br/> With all his noted butting power.<br/> They say it was a striking scene,<br/> That twilight conflict on the green;<br/> The wheel was resting on the shed,<br/> The frame around the garden spread,<br/> Before the goat had gained his sight,<br/> And judged the article aright."<br/> <br/> A third remarked: "I call to mind<br/> Another wheel that we may find.<br/> Though somewhat worn by use and time,<br/> It seems to be in order prime;<br/> Now, night is but a babe as yet,<br/> The dew has scarce the clover wet;<br/> By running fast and working hard<br/> We soon can bring it to the yard;<br/> Then stationed here in open air<br/> The widow's wool shall be our care."<br/> <br/> This suited all, and soon with zeal<br/> They started off to find the wheel;<br/> Their course across the country lay<br/> Where great obstructions barred the way;<br/> But Brownies seldom go around<br/> However rough or wild the ground.<br/> <br/> O'er rocky slope and marshy bed,<br/> With one accord they pushed ahead,<br/></td><td align='left' valign='top'><ANTIMG src="images/i103b.png" width-obs="108" height-obs="343" alt="smashing up wheel" title="" /> </td></tr> </table></div> <div class='poem'> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</SPAN></span> Across the tail-race of a mill,<br/> And through a churchyard on the hill.<br/> <br/> They found the wheel, with head and feet,<br/> And band and fixtures, all complete;<br/></div> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i104.png" width-obs="513" height-obs="473" alt="Struggling on the homeward road" title="" /></div> <div class='poem'> And soon beneath the trying load<br/> Were struggling on the homeward road.<br/> <br/> They had some trouble, toil, and care,<br/> Some hoisting here, and hauling there;<br/> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</SPAN></span></div> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i105.png" width-obs="513" height-obs="557" alt="Carrying it home" title="" /></div> <div class='poem'> At times, the wheel upon a fence<br/> Defied them all to drag it thence,<br/> As though determined to remain<br/> And serve the farmer, guarding grain.<br/> But patient head and willing hand<br/> <span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</SPAN></span>Can wonders work in every land;<br/> And cunning Brownies never yield,<br/> But aye as victors leave the field.<br/></div> <div class='poem2'><br/> Some ran for sticks, and some for pries,<br/> And more for blocks on which to rise,<br/> That every hand or shoulder there,<br/> In such a pinch might do its share.<br/></div> <div class='poem'><br/> Before the door they set the wheel,<br/> And near at hand the winding reel,<br/> That some might wind while others spun,<br/> And thus the task be quickly done.<br/> <br/></div> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="poem and drawings"> <tr><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/i106a.png" width-obs="225" height-obs="277" alt="Spinning around" title="" /> </td><td align='left'>No time was wasted, now, to find<br/> What best would suit each hand or mind.<br/> Some through the cottage crept about<br/> To find the wool and pass it out;<br/> With some to turn, and some to pull,<br/> And some to shout, "The spindle's full!"<br/> The wheel gave out a droning song,&mdash;<br/> The work in hand was pushed along.<br/> <br/> Their mode of action and their skill<br/> With wonder might a spinster fill;<br/> For out across the yard entire<br/> They spun the yarn like endless wire,&mdash;<br/></td></tr> <tr><td align='left'>Beyond the well with steady haul,<br/> Across the patch of beans and all,<br/> Until the walls, or ditches wide,<br/> A greater stretch of wool denied.<br/> <br/> The widow's yarn was quickly wound<br/> In tidy balls, quite large and round.<br/></td><td align='left'><ANTIMG src="images/i106b.png" width-obs="149" height-obs="127" alt="under frame" title="" /> </td></tr> </table></div> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</SPAN></span></p> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/i107.png" width-obs="506" height-obs="479" alt="Taking it back" title="" /></div> <div class='poem'> And ere the night began to fade,<br/> The borrowed wheel at home was laid;<br/> And none the worse for rack or wear,<br/> Except a blemish here and there,<br/> A spindle bent, a broken band,&mdash;<br/> 'T was ready for the owner's hand.<br/></div> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />