Now with her empty can the maiden turned away; But ere ten yards were gone, her footsteps did she stay. Right towards the lamb she looked; and from a shady place I unobserved could see the workings of her face. If nature to her tongue could measured numbers bring, Thus, thought I, to her lamb that little maid might sing: "What ails thee, young one?- what? Why pull so at thy cord? Is it not well with thee?- well both for bed and board? Thy plot of grass is soft, and green as grass can be ; Rest, little young one, rest; what is 't that aileth thee? Thou know'st that twice a day I have brought thee in this can You Moon! have you done something wrong in heaven, That God has hidden your face? Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran; I hope, if you have, you will soon be forgiven, And twice in the day, when the ground is wet And shine again in your place. with dew, "Sisters and brothers, little maid, "And where are they? I pray you tell." "Two of us in the churchyard lie, Dwell near them with my mother." "You say that two at Conway dwell, Then did the little maid reply, "Seven boys and girls are we; Two of us in the churchyard lie Beneath the churchyard tree." "You run about, my little maid; Your limbs they are alive; If two are in the churchyard laid, Then ye are only five." "Their graves are green, they may be seen," The little maid replied: "Twelve steps or more from my mother's door, And they are side by side. "My stockings there I often knit; My kerchief there I hem; And there upon the ground I sit, And sing a song to them. "And often after sunset, sir, "The first that died was Sister Jane; In bed she moaning lay, Till God released her of her pain; "So in the churchyard she was laid; And, when the grass was dry, Together round her grave we played, My brother John and I. "And when the ground was white with snow, And I could run and slide, My brother John was forced to go, And he lies by her side." SLEEP breathes at last from out thee, And balmy rest about thee I sit me down, and think Yet almost wish, with sudden shrink, Thy sidelong pillowed meekness; The little trembling hand These, these are things that may demand Sorrows I've had, severe ones, I will not think of now; But when thy fingers press Ah, first-born of thy mother, When life and hope were new; My light, where'er I go; To say, "He has departed". To feel impatient-hearted, Ah, I could not endure That it will not be so. is gone, Yes, still he's fixed, and sleeping! This silence too the while, Its very hush and creeping Seem whispering us a smile; Something divine and dim Seems going by one's ear, Like parting wings of cherubim, Who say, "We've finished here." LEIGH HUNT. BABY'S SHOES. O, THOSE little, those little blue shoes! Those shoes that no little feet use. O the price were high That those shoes would buy, For they hold the small shape of feet And ceased from their totter so sweet. And O, since that baby slept, That little dear treasure, For they mind her forevermore And blue eyes she sees Look up from her knees With the look that in life they wore. As they lie before her there, There babbles from chair to chair That's a gleam in the place, Than those tiny blue shoes And whose sight makes such fond tears start! WILLIAM C. BENNETT. OUR WEE WHITE ROSE ALL in our marriage garden Grew, smiling up to God, A bonnier flower than ever Suckt the green warmth of the sod; O beautiful unfathomably Its little life unfurled; And crown of all things was our wee White Rose of all the world. PICTURES OF MEMORY. AMONG the beautiful pictures That hang on Memory's wall Is one of a dim old forest, That seemeth best of all; Not for its gnarled oaks olden, Dark with the mistletoe; Not for the violets golden That sprinkle the vale below; Not for the milk-white lilies That lean from the fragrant ledge, Coquetting all day with the sunbeams, And stealing their golden edge; Not for the vines on the upland, Where the bright red berries rest, Nor the pinks, nor the pale sweet cowslip, It seemeth to me the best. I once had a little brother, With eyes that were dark and deep; In the lap of that old dim forest He lieth in peace asleep : Light as the down of the thistle, Free as the winds that blow, We roved there the beautiful summers, The summers of long ago; But his feet on the hills grew weary, And, one of the autumn eves, I made for my little brother A bed of the yellow leaves. Sweetly his pale arms folded My neck in a meek embrace, As the light of immortal beauty Silently covered his face; And when the arrows of sunset Lodged in the tree-tops bright, He fell, in his saint-like beauty, Asleep by the gates of light. Therefore, of all the pictures That hang on Memory's wall, The one of the dim old forest Seemeth the best of all. |