HANNAH PAULDING. [Illustration] [Illustration] THE KINGFISHER. WHERE the white lilies quiver By the sedge in the river, I fly in and out, I hunt all about; For I am the daring kingfisher, kingfisher! Rod and line have not I, But, a fish when I spy, From the tree-top I start, And down, down, I dart; For I am the daring kingfisher, kingfisher! My dinner I make, My pleasure I take, And the fish must be quick That would parry my trick; For I am the daring kingfisher, kingfisher! Now summer is near, And the boys will be here; But I fly or I run, When I look on a gun, Tho' I am the daring kingfisher, kingfisher! EMILY CARTER. [Illustration] PLAYING SOLDIER. LITTLE Mary lives in Boston. She has no brothers or sisters to play with her, and no mother. But her papa plays with her a great deal. There is one game she has with him that is very entertaining to others who are looking on. At least so her aunts and uncles thought on Thanksgiving evening, when it was played for their amusement. I have called the game "Playing soldier." Mary was the captain; and her papa was the soldier. This is the way it was done: Mary went to her papa, who was standing, and placed herself in front of him, with her back against him. "Shoulder arms!" shouted the little captain; and her tall soldier immediately put her on his left shoulder, in imitation of the real soldier, who holds his musket or gun against that place. "Forward march!" shouted our little captain again; and her soldier marched forward with a quick step. "Halt!" cried she after he had marched back; and he stopped at once. "Ground arms!" was the next command; and the soldier put his captain down on the floor in front of him just as she had stood before--and the play was over. M. MADIE'S VISIT AT GRANDMA'S. MADIE is a dear little girl who lives in a pretty village in the State of New York. Every summer she goes to visit her grandmother, whose home is at Bay View, near a beautiful body of water called Henderson Bay, a part of Lake Ontario. She is very happy at Bay View; for, besides grandma, there are an uncle and two aunts, who are never too busy to swing her in the hammock, out under the maples, or play croquet with her on the lawn. Sometimes she drives out with her uncle behind his black ponies; and, if the road is smooth and level, he lets Madie hold the reins. But she likes better to go with him on the water, in his fine sail-boat, "Ildrian," which is a Spanish name, and means "fleet as lightning."