Oh, give me a clutch in my hand of as much Of the mane of a horse as a hold, And let his desire to be gone be a fire And let him be snorting and bold! And then with a swing on his back let me fling My leg that is naked as steel And let us away to the end of the day To quiet the tempest I feel. And keen as the wind with the cities behind And prairie before--like a sea, With billows of grass that lash as we pass. Make way for my stallion and me! And up with his nose till his nostril aglows, And out with his tail and his mane, And up with my breast till the breath of the West Is smiting me--knight of the plain! Oh, give me a gleam of your eyes, love adream With the kiss of the sun and the dew, And mountain nor swale, nor the scorch nor the hail Shall halt me from spurring to you! For wild as a flood-melted snow for its blood-- By crag, gorge, or torrent, or shoal, I'll ride on my steed and lay tho' it bleed, My heart at your feet--and my soul! PHILIP VERRILL MICHELS, in _Harper's Weekly._ MARCH 28. Lo, a Power divine, in all nature is found, A Power omniscient, unfailing, profound; A great Heart, that loves beauty and order and light. In the flowers, in the shells, in the stars of the night. JOSIAH KEEP, in _Shells and Sea-Life._ MARCH 29. BACK TO THE DESERT. Call it the land of thirst, Call it the land accurst, Or what you will; There where the heat-lines twirl And the dust-devils whirl His heart turns still. * * * * * Back to the land he knows, Back where the yucca grows And cactus bole; Where the coyote cries, Where the black buzzard flies Flyeth his soul! BAILEY MILLARD, in _Songs of the Press._ MARCH 30. DRIVING THE LAST SPIKE, 1869. Under the desert sky the spreading multitude was called to order. There followed a solemn prayer of thanksgiving. The laurel tie was placed, amidst ringing cheers. The golden spike was set. The trans-American telegraph wire was adjusted. Amid breathless silence the silver hammer was lifted, poised, dropped, giving the gentle tap that ticked the news to all the world! Then, blow on blow, Governor Stanford sent the spike to place! A storm of wild huzzas burst forth; desert rock and sand, plain and mountain, echoed the conquest of their terrors. The two engines moved up, touched noses; and each in turn crossed the magic tie. America was belted! The great Iron Way was finished. SARAH PRATT CARR, in _The Iron Way._ MARCH 31. THE SPIRIT OF THE WEST.