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[Illustration]


             Gobolinks
                or
          Shadow-Pictures
         For Young and Old

       BY                 And
  Ruth McEnery       Albert Bigelow
     Stuart               Paine

           [Illustration]

             New York
          The Century Co.
               1896

 Copyright, 1896, by The Century Co.




DEDICATION


[Illustration]


TO OLD FRIENDS WITH YOUNG HEARTS AND YOUNG HEARTS GROWING OLD.

    Dear Friends of our youth, should you happen to look
    At the curious things in this curious book,
    And should you, with quizzical countenance, ask
    The how and the why of our curious task--
      We could truly reply
      To the query of "why--"
    To the smile on your lip, and your questioning eye,
      That the work was begun
      In a spirit of fun,
    To amuse when the work of the daylight was done;
    And continued, because we believed it would be
    Amusement to such as were weary as we
    To drift for awhile among goblins and elves,
    Or haply make shadows and rhymes for themselves.
    For though years have passed since we drifted apart,
    We're all of us more or less children at heart.
    And maybe yourselves and the youngsters 't will please
    To dwell for an hour with such creatures as these.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

    Now, some one has said, in a moment of spleen,
    We cannot make pictures of what we've not seen;
    But such an assertion deserves only scorn,
    For the shape of the Gobolink never was born.
    He comes like the marvelous mimes of our dreams,
    When one has been supping on salads and creams,
    And curious changes of vision take place--
    The horse may appear with an elephant face--
    The goat with a cane, and the goose with a hat--
    Six legs on the dog, and two tails on the cat;
    We never can tell, though we're sorely perplexed,
    What shape will be shown us, or what will come next;
    And these are the things that our Gobolinks do--
    Dear friends, and dear children, we give them to you.

[Illustration]




THE GOBOLINK AND HOW TO MAKE HIM.


[Illustration]

Drop a little ink on a sheet of white paper. Fold the sheet in the
center and press the ink-spots together with the fingers. All of the
pictures in this book were made in this manner----none of them having
been touched with a pen or brush.

A great deal of practice will only go to show that the Gobolink, as his
name implies, is a veritable goblin of the ink-bottle, and the way he
eludes the artist's design proves him a self-made eccentric creature of
a superior imagination.

It is hardly to be expected that the animals and birds of prey referred
to under more or less familiar names in the accompanying rhymes will be
strikingly correct as to anatomy; and because, as upon page 15, the
elephants, or whatever they may be, happen to have each a row of
interesting tails continuing along the full length of the spinal column,
no unkind criticism should be made upon the ability of the overworked
and conscientious artists, who would have made fewer tails if they
could, and have added nothing to the price of the book on account of
undue liberality in the matter of caudal appendages.

[Illustration]

In fact the most unexpected and startling results will often
occur--results grotesquely and strangely beautiful, well worthy of
preservation. The authors of this book will be glad to receive a few
examples of some of the more unusual Gobolinks or Shadow-Pictures that
may occur to those interested in the amusement. They may be sent care of
The Century Co.




THE GAME OF GOBOLINK.


Persons of all ages may obtain amusement out of Gobolinks, or
Shadow-Pictures, as they are also called.

[Illustration]

The following is a very good method for playing the game:

Let three of the company be selected by the hostess as judges. To each
of the others she then distributes from five to ten sheets of paper,
from which they must produce at least one completed picture and rhyme in
a given length of time, say five minutes, at the end of which the
hostess rings a bell and the judges proceed at once to take up the
pictures. These are then passed upon by them while the hostess is
distributing a fresh round of paper, and the best two and the worst one
are laid aside.

Those whose pictures have been selected now act as judges, surrendering
their places at the tables to their predecessors, and another lot of
pictures and rhymes are made.

The game is continued in this manner until the hostess announces the
arrival of the time for final judgment, or until a certain hour
specified in the beginning.

[Illustration]

The three judges then in office now select one of the company as
"reader," and such person selected shall take up his position in strong
light, and after reading the verses on each picture shall display it in
full view of all present. It should then be pinned to a suspended sheet
or screen where it may be easily examined by the company.

This shall be continued until all the pictures selected by the judges
have been so treated and displayed. The reader then acts as chairman,
and the company proceed to vote on them for first, second, and booby
prizes.

The Gobolink receiving second largest number of votes for first prize is
awarded second. The ballot for booby should be, of course, taken
separately. Pictures should be signed or otherwise identified.

[Illustration]

Where a number are making the pictures, it is well to seat them around a
large table with the ink-supply in the center.

Jet-black ink should be used, and a good quality of unglazed paper. The
ink should not be too thin.

The table should be protected from accident with several thicknesses of
newspaper.

A filled pen or tincture-dropper may be used for supplying the ink.

For a specially invited Gobolink party the company may dress in any
grotesque fashion, remembering only that both sides of their costume
shall be the same, this being a feature peculiar to Gobolink attire.

No game could be more productive of amusement than Gobolink.

[Illustration]




  CONTENTS.


                          PAGE
  Drum-Major                 1
  Somethings                 2
  Bubblers                   3
  Jack-o-my-Goblin           3
  Friendly Chickens          4
  Unfriendly Chickens        5
  They Stayed at Home        5
  The Butterfly              6
  Dipsey Doodle              7
  His Relative               7
  Striking Resemblance       8
  Mask                       9
  Human Nature               9
  Red Riding-Hood's Wolf    10
  Witch Broth               11
  Just Like Other Children  12
  Sea Dance                 13
  Singers                   13
  Birds on the Wire         14
  A Hard Question           15
  Moon Dance                16
  Prehistoric Animals       17
  Graceful Polly-<DW76>s       18
  South-Sea Idol            19
  Preparing for Winter      20
  Bathers                   21
  Bad Boy                   21
  Brotherly Consolation     22
  Butterfly Man             23
  Transferred Smile         24
  Royal Grotto              25
  Modest Miss Kangaroo      25
  Gargoyle                  26
  Elf Party                 27
  Unpleasant Companions     28
  Grenadier                 28
  Kings' Jesters            29
  Funny Octopus             30
  Nymphs and Ostriches      31
  A Convenience             32
  Fox and Geese             33
  Entomology                33
  Tail of Taddy Pole        34
  Arabesque                 35
  Wind Maidens              36
  Gobolinks' Mirror         36
  Pugilists                 37
  What They Left            38
  Gobolink Horses           39
  Miss De Lisle             40
  Her Curling-Tongs         41
  Bears and Harlequins      42
  Faithful Notes            43
  Polite Colly-Wobbles      43
  Brave Warriors            44
  Steeple Men               45
  Sheet-and-Pillow Party    45
  Moss-Backs                46
  What-is-it                47
  Merry Water-Weedles       48
  Narrow Escape             49
  Vicious Golly-Pops        50
  Captives                  50
  Divers                    51
  Shadow-Harp               52
  Glad Return               53
  Grotesques                54
  Crests                    55
  Frontier Coat-of-Arms     56
  Fanciful Elk              56
  T' other and Which        57
  Cathodes              58, 59
  In the X-Ray              60
  Beetleville Dance         61
  Queen Beetle              62
  King Beetle               63
  Other Beetles             63
  Our Pet                   64
  Good Breeding             64
  The Washerwomen           65
  A Marine Ball             66
  Queer Mollusks            67
  Sea Weeds             68, 72
  Finis                     73




Gobolinks


THE DRUM MAJOR

[Illustration]

      A jolly little major of the drum,
      Behind him all the shadow people come,
          As he bravely leads the way
          For the Gobolink array
    With a bearing most important, and his uniform so gay;
    Oh, it's very plain to see that he's the hero of the day,
      This jolly little major of the drum.


THE SOMETHINGS

[Illustration]

    A Something met a Something
      In the mists of Shadowland.
    They ran against each other,
      And came quickly to a stand.

    "And who are you?" said Something One.
    And Something Two, said he,
    "That's just the very question that
    At once occurred to me."


THE BUBBLERS

[Illustration]

    These boys have just returned from school,
      And now forget their troubles--
    They both are sitting on a stool,
      And blowing crooked bubbles.


THE JACK-O-MY-GOBLIN

[Illustration]

      A terrible creature of Ink-bottle Land,
          A Jack-o-my-goblin is he.
    The sea-urchins made him to place on the sand,
    And frighten the monsters that dwell on the land.
    They took a sea-pumpkin and carved it by hand,
          And lighted it up in their glee
          With a phosphorus fish from the sea;
    Now all the day long on the shore doth he stand,
          While Land-loodles terrified flee,
                      Oh, yes,
          The terrified Land-loodles flee.


THE FRIENDLY CHICKENS

[Illustration]

    These chicks have been out in all weathers,
    They have little to show but pin-feathers;
        But their friendship is strong,
        And they sing us a song
    Regardless of wherefores or whethers.


THEY STAYED AT HOME

[Illustration]

    These chickens long debated
      On a costume for a ball,
    And became so much elated
      That they didn't go at all.


THE UNFRIENDLY CHICKENS

[Illustration]

    The saucy chicks which here you see
      Know neither wrong nor right--
    They can't be good like you and me,
    Who sometimes really do agree--
      So all day long they fight.


THE BUTTERFLY

[Illustration]

    How gaily flits the Butterfly
      Across the seas of clover.
    How blue the arching summer sky
      That hangs the country over.

    On wings of purple, brown, and gold
      He drifts across the meadow.
    His harmless flight you may behold
      From Yucatan to Yeddo.


DIPSEY DOODLE..

[Illustration]

    This is little Dipsey Doodle,
    Sometimes called the great Kioodle.


HIS RELATIVE

[Illustration]

    This is Dipsey Doodle's brother--
    They have ears like one another.


A STRIKING RESEMBLANCE

[Illustration]

    Two Widgelums went for a walk one day
      By the shores of a shimmering sea;
    And one of them said to the other, "I pray,
      Now what's your opinion of me?"

    Then the Widgelum looked at his widgelous mate:
      "My charming companion," said he,
    "The things that I think I am loath to relate,
      You look so exactly like me."


THE MASK

[Illustration]

    Here is a curious mask--
      I don't know of whom or of what--
    I've never had courage to ask;
      A saint's I am sure it is not.


HUMAN NATURE?

[Illustration]

    Two rival Woojums did declare
      That they must surely sever,
    But lo! that day, they found that they
      Were better friends than ever.


RED RIDING-HOOD'S WOLF

[Illustration]

    Oh, this is the wolf that Red Riding-hood found
      When she came to her grandmother's bed,
    Her ears were so long and her eyes big and round,
    While her voice had a strange and a terrible sound
      When she answered what Riding-hood said,
      For alas, the grandmother was dead.
    And Little Red Riding-hood sprang with a bound
      Through the doorway and hastily fled,
                              Oh, my,
          In terror she hastily fled.


WITCH BROTH

[Illustration]

    Witches, witches in a tree,
    Brew your broth of mystery.
    Snail and toad and lizard in it--
    Tail of cat and tongue of linnet,
    Rabbit's foot and wing of bee--
    Witches, witches, none for me.


JUST LIKE OTHER CHILDREN

[Illustration]

    Two little Gobolinks one day
    Were sent to do the dishes,
    Instead of which they ran away
    And fished for shadow-fishes.

    They fished and fished and fished and fished,
      And but a leaf they caught, O,
    And then they wished and wished and wished
      They'd done the thing they ought to.

    So, by and by they homeward crept
    With plumage drooping sadly,
    And there they bowed their heads and wept
    Because they felt so badly.

[Illustration]


A SEA-DANCE

[Illustration]

    Two beautiful sponges one day
    Joined hands with a haughty sting-ray,
      And away danced the three
      Through the depths of the sea
    In a most irresponsible way.


THE SINGERS

[Illustration]

    These ducks have voices sweet to hear,
        And frequently before us
    They stretch their mouths from ear to ear,
        And sing to us in chorus.


THE BIRDS AND THE WIRE

[Illustration]

        Upon the quivering wire,
        As hearkening to a lyre,
    The sparrows gather at the break of day.
        Perhaps that vibrant string
        Is tuned that they may sing
    An anthem to the glories of the May.


A HARD QUESTION

[Illustration]

    Here are two pairs of funny beasts,
      I hardly know their habits--
    Perhaps they may be elephants--
      Perhaps they may be rabbits.

    In conversation they appear
      Withdrawn from one another,
    As if attempting to decide
      What name to give the other.


THE MOON DANCE

[Illustration]

    Two shadow-colts one summer night did try
    To dance a jig because the moon was high:
          But the moon obscured its face,
          For she thought 't was a disgrace.
    While the little stars were laughing in the sky.


PREHISTORIC ANIMALS

[Illustration]

    Many creatures such as these,
      Ere the dawn of history,
    On the land, and in the seas
      Manufactured mystery.

    Mystery for mighty men
      Who, like Doctor Dry-bone
    Bring them into form again
      From a scale or thigh-bone.


THE GRACEFUL POLLY-<DW76>s

[Illustration]

    Oh, the polly-<DW76> waltzes with wonderful grace,
    And he skates with a radiant smile on his face,
            While his arm in the air
            Has the curve, I declare,
    Of some beautiful creature's of Thrace.


A SOUTH-SEA IDOL

[Illustration]

    There lives an old god in the isles of the West,
        And a wonderful god is he,
    With a star on his brow, and a star on his breast,
            While at left and at right,
            In their armor drest,
            A dragon and knight
            On his shoulders rest,
    And he dwells in the great South Sea.


PREPARING FOR WINTER

[Illustration]

    These squirrels have paused to consider
      The fact that 't is late in the fall,
    And time to lay nuts up for winter
      If they would have any at all.

    The red squirrel hoards like a miser,
      But, alas, the improvident gray,
    He's only a pauper of winter
      Who scampers the summer away.


THE BATHERS

[Illustration]

    Adown the beach at Rockaway,
    Three bathers one hot summer day
    Retired to while the hours away.

    Their minds were free, their hearts were light.
    The August sun was fierce and bright,
    They dived and swam from morn till night.


THE BAD BOY

[Illustration]

    This little fellow misbehaved,
      And gave the people shocks,
    Until at last they were compelled
      To put him in the stocks.


BROTHERLY CONSOLATION

[Illustration]

          A Thingamy-bob
                  Got out of a job,
    And went to consult with his brother:
          Said his brother to him,
                  "Your chances are slim
    Unless you go hunt up another."


THE BUTTERFLY MAN

[Illustration]

    A very gay fellow was he--
    As gay as a mortal could be.
      And he fluttered about
      Till at last he turned out
    A Butterfly man, as you see.


THE TRANSFERRED SMILE

[Illustration]

    Two little snails did smile and smile,
      The summer day beguiling.
    Two birds espied them from afar,
      And now the birds are smiling.


THE ROYAL GROTTO

[Illustration]

    A king and a queen in a grotto
    Are kissing as kings and queens ought to
      If you'll look you will find
      Two attendants behind,--
    "To watch and to guard," is their motto.


THE MODEST MISS KANGAROO

[Illustration]

    Two kangaroos upon a pole
      Were talking softly to each other.
    One whispered: "Dear, upon the whole,
      I think you'd better ask my mother."


THE GARGOYLE

[Illustration]

    A gargoyle here you see.
      I've heard it said that he
        Was found in France
        By strangest chance--
    But what is that to me?

    I only know that we
      Discovered him to be
        An imp of ink;
        And so I think
    He's ours, as you'll agree.


THE ELF PARTY

[Illustration]

          These four little two-horned elves
          Are seated on coraline shelves.
              The spot where they be
              Is down under the sea,
    And they've got the whole reef to themselves.


UNPLEASANT COMPANIONS

[Illustration]

    Here are two Wriggles from Wriggelum-town--
    Their legs are sky-blue and their bodies are brown;
    Their tails are a wonderful changeable hue;
    I don't care to have them for playmates, do you?


THE GRENADIER

[Illustration]

    A soldierly fellow is he,
    With swords as erect as can be.
      His attendants are queer,
      And so small, they appear
    To barely reach up to his knee.


KINGS' JESTERS

[Illustration]

    Jesters from the courts of kings
    Tell their secret whisperings.
    Just a fleeting moment, then
    They must hurry back again.
    Ever making monarchs gay,
    Happy-hearted jesters they.


THE FUNNY OCTOPUS

[Illustration]

    A jolly old octopus lived in the sea,
        With a hey-diddle hi-diddle dum;
    And the funniest sort of a fellow was he,
    This jolly old octopus under the sea,
    With a mouth where the top of his head ought to be,
        To swallow the divers that come--
    This jolly old octopus under the sea,
        With a hey-diddle hi-diddle dum.


THE NYMPHS AND THE OSTRICHES

[Illustration]

    Two pious little nymphs are kneeling here--
      Two double-headed ostriches above them;
    And on their backs two gallant knights appear--
      Perhaps they'll see the little nymphs and love them.


A CONVENIENCE

[Illustration]

    The shadow-rack stands in the Shadow-man's hall;
    It holds shadow-canes and umbrellas, and all
    The various things that the Gobolinks use
    When they go for a walk to get rid of the blues.


ENTOMOLOGY

[Illustration]

    These are some insects that dwell in the grass
    And nip at the gobolinks' toes as they pass.
    Their legs are uneven, their bodies are queer.
    Their habits are very uncertain, I fear.


FOX AND GEESE

[Illustration]

    Two foxes stole two geese one night,
    When the air was warm and the moon was bright:
    One started west--one started east--
    Their hearts intent on a glorious feast.
    But alas! for the things that we hope to do!
    A funny old man, with pistols two,
    Came running out, where the moon was bright,
    And they dropped their plunder and took to flight.


THE TAIL OF TADDY POLE

[Illustration]

    There was a little Polliwog--
      His name was Taddy Pole.
    He lived within a little bog,
      Beside a crawfish hole.

[Illustration]

    And all the day did Taddy play
      Around a sunken log,
    Until he lost his tail one day,
      And then he was a frog.


THE ARABESQUE

[Illustration]

    Oh, here are two doves in a bower,
    Or a wonderful arabesque flower;
      Or a nobby design
      For a sweet valentine;
    Or, reversed, 't is a beast with a glower.


THE GOBOLINKS' MIRROR

[Illustration]

    Tins is the mirror the gobolinks use
    To do up their tresses in style if they choose.
          To do up their tresses,
          And look at their dresses,
      And maybe to button their shoes.


WIND MAIDENS

[Illustration]

    Here are two maids of the wind
    Whose dresses are strangely designed.
        They appear to be made
        Without buttons or braid,
        And fastened together behind.


THE PUGILISTS

[Illustration]

    The pugilistic craze is such
      That e'en the gobolinks absorb it.
    These pictures don't amount to much,
      But they were made for Fitz and Corbett.


WHAT THEY LEFT

[Illustration]

    Oh, here's to the poet that sings
    The song of the gobolink kings
        Who left silhouettes
        With their kindest regrets,
    And other quite wonderful things.


GOBOLINK HORSES

[Illustration]

    These are the steeds that the gobolinks use;
    They love them and pet them and never abuse.
    Their backs are not pleasant to sit on, they say,
    So they ride them erect in the hippodrome way.


MISS F.M. DE LISLE

[Illustration]

    This is a damsel who dresses in style.
    Her name is Miss Fannie Magruder De Lisle.
    She loves to look pretty--as most of us do--
    That's why she's so stylish, and dignified, too.


FANNIE'S CURLING-TONGS

[Illustration]

    These are the irons with which Fannie crimps
    Her fair auburn tresses whenever she primps.
    She curls and arranges her locks with great care,
    Because she is proud of her radiant hair.


THE BEARS AND THE HARLEQUINS.

[Illustration]

    Gay harlequins dancing--beribboned are they
      And carry two poles in the air;
    That rest on their heads in a curious way,
      And top of each pole is a bear,
                              I declare,
      A wonderful, long-tailed bear.


THE FAITHFUL NOTES

[Illustration]

    An old guitar once broke its strings,
    And all the musical notes took wings;
    They harried away to lands afar.
    But two of them stayed with the old guitar.


THE POLITE COLLY-WOBBLES

[Illustration]

    Very polite colly-wobbles are these--
    They hang by their feet to the branches of trees,
            While a hand they extend
            To a wobbledy friend,
    And often they say, "If you please."


THE BRAVE WARRIORS

[Illustration]

    Two Indian warriors got frightened one day,
      And fled from the midst of alarms;
    And later they met in a curious way,
      Each bearing a goat in his arms.


STEEPLE MEN

[Illustration]

    Two funny old three-legged gnomes
    Came out of their shadowy domes:
        They made their salute
        With a hand and a foot,
    And then hurried back to their homes.


THE SHEET-AND-PILLOW PARTY

[Illustration]

    A pillow-case party the Gobolinks gave,
      And it proved a right merry carouse:
    But I'm sure you'd have laughed at their attitudes grave
      As they made their ridiculous bows.


MOSS-BACKS

[Illustration]

    Here are two scraggle-de-racks
    With moss on their beautiful backs--
       The sort that you'll find
       On such of mankind
    As fail to keep up with the facts.


A WHAT-IS-IT

[Illustration]

    There was an old man of high feather,
    Who said, "I can't really tell whether
        I'm a man or a mouse,
        Or the roof of a house,
    So much may depend on the weather."


THE MERRY WATER-WEEDLES

[Illustration]

    Within the caverns of the sea
        Two Water-weedles stay.
    Their hearts are happy as can be,
    Within the caverns of the sea
    They sing and frolic in their glee
        Throughout the livelong day.
    Within the caverns of the sea
        Two water-weedles stay.


A NARROW ESCAPE

[Illustration]

    Two piggies went to market
      All on a market day,
    But when the butcher caught them
      They wished they'd stayed away.

    "Oh, Piggy-wiggy, fare you well,
      Our ribs will soon be spare."
    And they quickly ran away,
      And now they don't go there.


THE CAPTIVES

[Illustration]

    Pray tell us, if you please,
    What sort of things are these:
    A shadow-ghost has captured them,
    And holds them fast with ease.


THE VICIOUS GOLLY-POPS

[Illustration]

      Here are two Golly-pops
      Looking for lollypops
          Such as grow under the sea.
    Their ways are ambitious,
    Their faces are vicious.
      I'm glad they're not looking for me.


THE DIVERS

[Illustration]

    Two divers, one sweet summer day,
      Went down into the ocean,
    They saw the fishes all at play,
      The sea-flowers all in motion.

    They danced a jig and sang a song,
      And gathered water-roses,
    When, lo, two lobsters came along,
      And bit them on their toeses.


THE SHADOW-HARP

[Illustration]

    This is the harp of which nobody sings--
    Where is the keyboard and where are the strings?
    The strings are undone and the keys thrown away,
    For this is the harp on which shadow-folk play.


A GLAD RETURN

[Illustration]

    Two little maids just home from school
      Have been so long asunder--
    They first embrace, then face to face
      They stand and look and wonder.


GROTESQUES

[Illustration]

    Very funny creatures these--
      Can't tell what they are.
    Men or birds or beasts or bees--
    Very funny creatures these--
    Turn them either way you please--
      View them near or far.
    Very funny creatures these--
      Can't tell what they are.

[Illustration]


SHADOW-CRESTS

[Illustration]

    These are designs of heraldry
      That shadow-folk affect,
    Though some are no less shadowy
      Than those that men select.

    For many men have bought a crest
      Although they come quite dear,
    And such of those as can't invest
      May find an emblem here.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

[Illustration]


A FRONTIER COAT-OF-ARMS

[Illustration]

    This is a crest
    That came out of the West,
    For the family was founded
    Where hunters abounded,
    So the head of a deer
    And two hunters appear.


THE FANCIFUL ELK

[Illustration]

    This is the head of an elk, as you see.
    His horns are as tall as a sycamore tree.
        They are strangely designed,
        And I think you will find
    He has horns where his ears ought to be.


T' OTHER AND WHICH

[Illustration]

    Ink-bottle imps turn up their noses
        When they meet each other:
    And the reason, I suppose, is--
        Can't tell which from t' other.


CATHODES

[Illustration]

[Illustration]

    And here we have a lot of things
        Defying nomenclature.
    The bones of Gobolinks are they,
    Revealing in the cathode ray
        Their anatomic nature.

[Illustration]

[Illustration: CATHODE]


IN THE X-RAY

[Illustration]

        Cathode fairy,
        Light and airy,
        Sunny weather,
        Two together,
    Caring nothing why or whether
    Flesh or blood or bone or feather
    Shows on such a summer day
    'Neath the Cathode's magic ray.


A BEETLEVILLE DANCE

[Illustration]

    The beetles gave a party,
      And all their friends were there.
    The welcome was so hearty
    To join the beetles' party,
    The Joodle and the Jarty
      Came flying through the air.
    Oh, the beetles gave a party,
      And all their friends were there.


QUEEN BEETLE

[Illustration]

    A Lady queen of Beetle-land--
    Attendants small on either hand.
    They walk or fly with equal skill--
    They fetch and carry at her will.
    I'm glad, I'm sure, that we have seen
    The beetles and their lady queen.


BEETLES

[Illustration: GOLD BUG]

[Illustration]

    This is a beetle that came from Metuchen--
    The plan of his house is likewise his escutcheon.


KING BEETLE

[Illustration]

      Oh, a marvelous mind has the old beetle king,
        And he rules in a marvelous way;
    For he rolls up his eyes and commences to sing
    When his subjects go glittering by on the wing;
    And 'tis said that his notes have a powerful ring
        When he chants at the breaking of day--
                      They say--
        His anthem at breaking of day.


OUR PET

[Illustration]

    The head of a Gobolink tiger--
      With smellers arranged as you see
    He used to reside on the Niger;
      But now he is living with me.


GOOD BREEDING

[Illustration]

    Most Shadow-people are polite.
    And bow whene'er they meet;
    For us to do the same is right,
    At home or in the street.


THE WASHERWOMEN

[Illustration]

    There were some old ladies of Dundee
    Who did all their washing on Mondee.
      Then they shook out their clothes
      Till they dried, I suppose,
    To have them all ready for Sundee.


A MARINE BALL

[Illustration]

    Two lobsters and two sea-horses
      One day came out of the wet;
    They heard a mermaid sing her song,
      And danced a minuet.


THE QUEER MOLLUSKS

[Illustration]

    Ridiculous mollusks are we,
    And dwell in the depths of the sea.
        Our bodies are jelly,
        And we haven't a belly
    In the place where our bellies should be.

[Illustration]


SEAWEEDS

[Illustration: SEA-TULIP[A]]

    Within the garden of the sea
      Are gems of beauty rare--
    The Star-wort and Anemone
      And Ocean pinks are there.

    Oh, these are dainty things indeed
      The Mermaids keep in store;
    But fairer still, to me, the weed
      That decks the ocean's floor.

    Whatever flower of earth we win,
      Howe'er so fair it be,
    'T will not surpass those weeds within
      The garden of the sea.

[Footnote A: Names given are in use only in Gobolink-land.]


SEAWEEDS

[Illustration: ICICLE PLANT]

[Illustration: TOWER WEED.]

[Illustration: GIANT BLUE STEM]

[Illustration: PRAYER WEED]

[Illustration: COMB WEED]

[Illustration: LYNX HEAD]

[Illustration: MONK WEED]

[Illustration: SEA CHICORY]




FINIS


[Illustration]

    There was a gay Gobolink known as Maginnis,
    But now he is dead and we use him for Finis;
    Or, if you prefer to pronounce it Fin-nee,
    We'll say that this Gobolink's name was Magee.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]





End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Gobolinks, by 
Ruth McEnery Stuart and Albert Bigelow Paine

*** 