The chairman of the committee made a few remarks, in which he stated that, in the performance of the duties which would devolve upon the members, they would, doubtless, meet with some opposition. “But, never mind,” said he; “it is a glorious cause, and if we get the tongs at one time, and the hearth-brush another time, let ’em come!” He defined the duties of members to be,—first and foremost, to pay six and a quarter cents to defray expenses; to demolish a bandbox wherever and whenever there should be one; (for instance, if a fat woman was racing for the cars, with a bandbox in her arms, that box should be forcibly taken and burned on the spot, or whittled into such minute particles that it could no more be seen; if, in an omnibus warranted to seat twelve, fifteen men are congregated, and an individual attempts to enter with a bandbox, the box shall have notice to quit.)
“The manner of demolition,” he said, further, “might be variously defined. If the owner was a nervous lady, to kick the box would wound her feelings, and it were best to apparently unintentionally seat yourself on it; then beg a thousand pardons, and, as you, in your efforts to make it better, only make it worse, give it up in despair, and console the owner by a reference to spilt milk and the uselessness of crying. As to the contents of the boxes, they must look out for themselves. If they get injured, hint that they should keep out of bad company.”
The chairman sat down, and, the question being put, it was more than unanimously voted (inasmuch as one man voted with both hands That was McKenzie. ) to adopt the resolutions, the name, and all the remarks that had been made in connection with them. Members paid their assessments, and with a hearty good will.
Thus we see how “oaks from acorns grow.” Mrs. McKenzie’s fretfulness on account of her husband’s patriotism led to the formation of a society that will make rapid strides towards the front rank of the army now at work for the amelioration of the condition of mankind.
NEW ENGLAND HOMES.
I’ve been through all
the nations, have travelled o’er the earth,
O’er mountain-top and
valley, far from my land of birth;
But whereso’er I wandered,
wherever I did roam,
I saw no spot so pleasant
as my own New England home.
I’ve seen Italia’s
daughters, beneath Italian skies
Seen beauty in their happy
smiles, and love within their eyes;
But give to me the fairer
ones that grace New England’s shore,
In preference to the dwellers
in the valley of Lanore.
I’ve watched the sun’s
departure behind the “Eternal Hills,”
When with floods of golden
light the vaulted heaven it fills;
But Italy can never boast,
with its poetic power,
More varied beauties than
those of New England’s sunset hour.
I love my own New England;
I love its rocks and hills;