The Land of Used-to-be

71

We will gather buds and locust-blossoms, leaves and honeysuckle,

To wreathe around our foreheads, riding into Usedto-be ;

For here's the very rim of it that we go swinging overDon't you hear the Fairy bugles, and the tinkle of the bells,

And see the baby-bumblebees that tumble in the clover And dangle from the tilted pinks and tipsy pimpernels?

And don't you see the merry faces of the daffodillies, And the jolly Johnny-jump-ups, and the buttercups

a-glee,

And the low, lolling ripples ring around the waterlilies ?

All greeting us with laughter, to the Land of Used

to-be!

And here among the blossoms of the blooming vines and grasses,

With a haze for ever hanging in a sky for ever blue, And with a breeze from over-seas to kiss us as it passes, We will romp around forever as the airy Elfins do!

For all the elves of earth and air are swarming here together

The prankish Puck, King Oberon, and Queen Titania

too;

And dear old Mother Goose herself, as sunny as the

weather,

Comes dancing down the dewy walks to welcome me

and you!

James Whitcomb Riley.

LITTLE BOY BLUE.*

HE little toy dog is covered with dust,

THE But sturdy and stanch he stands;

And the little toy soldier is red with rust,
And the musket moulds in his hands.
Time was when the little toy dog was new,
And the soldier was passing fair;

And that was the time when our Little Boy Blue
Kissed them and put them there.

"Now, don't you go till I come,” he said,

66 And don't you make any

noise!"

So, toddling off to his trundle-bed,

He dreamt of the pretty toys;

And, as he was dreaming, an angel song
Awakened our Little Boy Blue—
Oh! the years are many, the years are long,
But the little toy friends are true!

Aye, faithful to Little Boy Blue they stand,

Each in the same old place

Awaiting the touch of a little hand,

The smile of a little face;

And they wonder, as waiting the long years through In the dust of that little chair,

What has become of our Little Boy Blue,

Since he kissed them and put them there.

Eugene Field.

* From "Lullaby Land," by Eugene Field. Published by Charles Scribner's Sons.

Wynken, Blynken, and Nod

73

WYNKEN, BLYNKEN, AND NOD.*

YNKEN, Blynken and Nod one night

WYN Sailed off in a wooden shoe

Sailed on a river of crystal light,

Into a sea of dew.

Where are you going, and what do

The old moon asked the three.

you wish?"

"We have come to fish for the herring fish
That live in this beautiful sea;

Nets of silver and gold have we!"

Said Wynken,
Blynken,

And Nod.

The old moon laughed and sang a song,
As they rocked in the wooden shoe,
And the wind that sped them all night long
Ruffled the waves of dew.

The little stars were the herring fish,

That lived in that beautiful sea

"Now cast your nets wherever you wish-
Never afeared are we;

So cried the stars to the fishermen three:

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.

*From "Lullaby Land," by Eugene Field. Published by Charles Scribner's Sons.

All night long their nets they threw

To the stars in the twinkling foam—

Then down from the skies came the wooden shoe,

Bringing the fishermen home;

'Twas all so pretty a sail it seemed

As if it could not be,

And some folks thought 'twas a dream they'd dreamed

Of sailing that beautiful sea—

But I shall name you the fishermen three:

Wynken,

Blynken,

And Nod.

Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes,
And Nod is a little head,

And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies
Is a wee one's trundle-bed.

So shut your eyes while mother sings
Of wonderful sights that be,

And you shall see the beautiful things

As you rock in the mystic sea,

Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three:

Wynken,

Blynken,
And Nod.

Eugene Field.

NOW THE DAY IS OVER.

day is over,

Now thNight is drawing nigh,

Shadows of the evening

Steal across the sky.

Now the Day is Over

Now the darkness gathers,
Stars begin to peep.

Birds, and beasts, and flowers
Soon will be asleep.

Jesu, give the weary

Calm and sweet repose;

With Thy tend'rest blessing

May mine eyelids close.

Grant to little children

Visions bright of Thee;

Guard the sailors tossing
On the deep blue sea.

Comfort every sufferer

Watching late in pain;

Those who plan some evil;
From their sin restrain.

Through the long night watches
May Thine Angels spread
Their white wings above me,
Watching round my bed.

When the morning wakens,
Then may I arise,
Pure and fresh and sinless

In Thy Holy Eyes.

Glory to the Father,

Glory to the Son,

And to Thee, Blest Spirit,
While all ages run.

75

S. Baring-Gould.