To increase as time hurries along;
'Twas then I first learned to lisp softly the words
Which I now love so proudly--'_Press on!_'

"I'll make wider my bed, as onward I tread,
A deep mighty river I'll be--
'_Press on_' all the day will I sing on my way,
Till I enter the far-spreading sea."

It ceased. A youth lingered beside its green edge
Till the stars in its face brightly shone;
He hoped the sweet strain would re-echo again--
But he just heard a murmur--"_Press on!_"

* * * * *

[FROM DICKENS'S HOUSEHOLD WORDS.]

ADDRESS FROM AN UNDERTAKER TO THE TRADE

(STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL.)

I address you, gentlemen, as an humble individual who is much
concerned about the body. This little joke is purely a professional
one. It must go no farther. I am afraid the public thinks
uncharitably of undertakers, and would consider it a proof that Dr.
Johnson was right when he said that the man who would make a pun
would pick a pocket. Well; we all try to do the best we can for
ourselves--everybody else as well as undertakers. Burials may be
expensive, but so is legal redress. So is spiritual provision; I mean