A Library of Poetry and Song: Being Choice Selections from the Best Poets

lost;

WILLIAM THOM.

And thy loved consort on the dangerous tide The father toils sair their wee bannock to earn,
Of life long since has anchored by thy side. An' kens na the wrangs o' his mitherless bairn.
But me, scarce hoping to attain that rest,
Always from port withheld, always distressed, Her spirit, that passed in yon hour o' his birth,
Me howling blasts drive devious, tempest-tossed, Still watches his wearisome wanderings on earth;
Sails ripped, seams opening wide, and compass Recording in heaven the blessings they earn

Wha couthilie deal wi' the mitherless bairn !
And day by day some current's thwarting force
Sets me more distant from a prosperous course. 0, speak him na harshly, - he trembles the
Yet 0, the thonght that thou art safe, and he !

while, That thought is joy, arrive what may to me. He bends to your bidding, and blesses your smile; My boast is not that I deduce my birth

In their dark hour o' anguish the heartless shall From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth;

learn
But higher far my proud pretensions rise, - That God deals the blow, for the mitherless bairn!
The son of parents passed into the skies.
And now, farewell ! -- Time, unrevoked, has run
His wonted course; yet what I wished is done.
By contemplation's help, not sought in vain,

I REMEMBER, I REMEMBER.
I seem to have lived my childhood o'er again, -
To have renewed the joys that once were mine,

I REMEMBER, I remember
Without the sin of violating thine ;

The house where I was born, And, while the wings of fancy still are free,

The little window where the sun And I can view this mimic show of thee,

Came peeping in at morn. Time has but half succeeded in his theft,

He never came a wink too soon,
Thyself removed, thy power to soothe me left.

Nor brought too long a day;
WILLIAM COWPER.

But now I often wish the night

Had borne my breath away!
THE MITHERLESS BAIRN.

I remember, I remember [An Inverary correspondent writes: "Thom gave me the fol.

The roses, red and white, lowing narrative as to the origin of 'The Mitherless Bairn'; I

The violets, and the lily-cups, –
quote his own words. . When I was livin' in Aberdeen, I was
Limping roun' the house to my garret, when I heard the greetin' o' Those flowers made of light!
A Lassie was thumpin' a bairn, when out cam a big

The lilacs where the robin built,
dame, bellowin' " Ye hussie, will ye lick a mitherless bairn!" I
hobled up the stair and wrote the sang afore sleepin"")

And where my brother set

The laburnum on his birthday, -
WHEN a' ither bairnies are hushed to their hame

The tree is living yet !
By aunty, or cousin, or frecky grand-daine,
Wha stands last and lanely, an' naebody carin' ?

I remember, I remember 'T is the puir doited loonie, - the mitherless

Where I was used to swing, bairn!

And thought the air must rush as fresh

To swallows on the wing; The mitherless baimn gangs to his lane bed;

My spirit flew in feathers then, Nane covers his cauld back, or haps his bare

That is so heavy now, head; His wee hackit heelies are hard as the airn,

And summer pools could hardly cool An' litheless the lair o' the mitherless bairn.

The fever on my brow!

a wean.

Aneath his cauld brow siccan dreams hover there,
O' hands that wont kindly to kame his dark hair ;
But mornin' brings clutches, a' reckless an' stern,
That lo'e nae the locks o' the mitherless bairn!

I remember, I remember

The fir-trees dark and high ;
I used to think their slender tops

Were close against the sky.
It was a childish ignorance,

But now 't is little joy
To know I'm farther off from heaven
Than when I was a boy.

THOMAS Hoon

Yon sister that sang o'er his saftly rocked bed
Now rests in the mools where her mammie is

laid ;

IV.
Little Ellie in her smile
Chooses ... “I will have a lover,

Riding on a steed of steeds !

He shall love me without guile, And to him I will discover The swan's nest among the reeds.

v. " And the steed shall be red-roan, And the lover shall be noble,

With an eye that takes the breath.

And the lute he plays upon Shall strike ladies into trouble,

As his sword strikes men to death.

XI. “Three times shall a young foot-page Swim the stream and climb the mountain And kneel down beside my feet;

Lo, my master sends this gage, Lady, for thy pity's counting!

What wilt thon exchange for it?'

VI.

“And the steed it shall be shod All in silver, housed in azure,

And the mane shall swim the wind;

And the hoofs along the sod Shall flash onward and keep measure,

Till the shepherds look behind.

XII. “And the first time, I will send A white rosebud for a guerdon,

And the second time, a glove;

But the third time, I may bend
From my pride, and answer, “Pardon,
If he comes to take my love.'

XIII.
“Then the young foot-page will run, -
Then my lover will ride faster,
Till he kneeleth at my knee :

I am a duke's eldest son ! Thousand serfs do call me master,

But, O Love, I love but thee!'

VII. “But my lover will not prize All the glory that he rides in,

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XIV. “He will kiss me on the mouth Then, and lead me as a lover

Through the crowds that praise his deeds ;

And, when soul-tied by one troth, Unto him I will discover

That swan's nest among the reeds."

“Myself will to my darling be
Both law and impulse ; and with me

The girl, in rock and plain,
In earth and heaven, in glade and bower,
Shall feel an overseeing power

To kindle or restrain.

XV.

Little Ellie, with her smile Not yet ended, rose up gayly,

Tied the bonnet, donned the shoe,

And went homeward, round a mile, Just to see, as she did daily,

What more eggs were with the two.

XVI.

“She shall be sportive as the fawn
That wild with glee across the lawn

Or up the mountain springs ;
And hers shall be the breathing balm,
And hers the silence and the calm,

Of mute insensate things. " The floating clouds their state shall lend To her; for her the willow bend;

Nor shall she fail to see
E'en in the motions of the storm
Grace that shall mould the maiden's form

By silent sympathy.
“The stars of midnight shall be dear
To her; and she shall lean her ear

In many a secret place Where rivulets dance their wayward round, And beauty born of murmuring sound

Shall pass into her face.

Pushing through the elm-tree copse, Winding up the stream, light-hearted,

Where the osier pathway leads, –

Past the boughs she stoops — and stops. Lo, the wild swan had deserted,

And a rat had gnawed the reeds.

XVII.
Ellie went home sad and slow.
If she found the lover ever,

With his red-roan steed of steeds,

Sooth I know not ! but I know
She could never show him — never,
That swan's nest among the reeds !

ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.

“And vital feelings of delight
Shall rear her form to stately height,

Her virgin bosom swell ;
Such thoughts to Lucy I will give
While she and I together live

Here in this happy dell."
Thus Nature spake. The work was done, -
How soon my Lucy's race was run!

She died, and left to me
This heath, this calm and quiet scene;
The memory of what has been,

And nevermore will be.

SWEET STREAM, THAT WINDS —

W. WORDSWORTH.

SWEET stream, that winds through yonder glade,
Apt emblem of a virtuous maid, -
Silent and chaste she steals along,
Far from the world's gay, busy throng;
With gentle yet prevailing force,
Intent upon her destined course ;
Graceful and useful all she does,
Blessing and blest where'er she goes ;
Pure-bosomed as that watery glass,
And Heaven reflected in her face.

W. COWPER.

NARCISSA. “YOUNG, gay, and fortunate !" Each yields a

theme. . And, first, thy youth: what says it to gray hairs ? Narcissa, I'm become thy pupil now ;Early, bright, transient, chaste as morning dew, She sparkled, was exhaled, and went to heaven.

, DR. EDWARD YOUNG,

THE EDUCATION OF NATURE.

MAIDENHOOD.

THREE years she grew in sun and shower;
Then Nature said, “A lovelier flower

On earth was never sown :
This child I to myself will take ;
She shall be mine, and I will make

A lady of my own.

MAIDEN ! with the meek brown eyes,
In whose orbs a shadow lies
Like the dusk in evening skies !

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