(For D. M. C.) br br The little man with the vague beard and guise br Pulled at the wicket. "Come inside!" he said, br "I'll show you all we've got now -- it was size br You wanted? -- oh, dry colors! Well" -- he led br To a dim alley lined with musty bins, br And pulled one fiercely. Violent and bold br A sudden tempest of mad, shrieking sins br Scarlet screamed out above the battered gold br Of tins and picture-frames. I held my breath. br He tugged another hard -- and sapphire skies br Spread in vast quietude, serene as death, br O'er waves like crackled turquoise -- and my eyes br Burnt with the blinding brilliance of calm sea! br "We're selling that lot there out cheap!" said he.