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!'

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."

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.

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.

7.

A BOY'S SONG.

WHERE the pools are bright and deep,

Where the grey trout lies asleep,

Up the river and o'er the lea,

That's the way for Billy and me.

Where the blackbird sings the latest,

Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest, Where the nestlings chirp and flee,

That's the way for Billy and me.

Where the mowers mow the cleanest,
Where the hay lies thick and greenest;
There to trace the homeward bee,
That's the way for Billy and me.

Where the hazel bank is steepest,
Where the shadow falls the deepest,
Where the clustering nuts fall free,
That's the way for Billy and me.

Why the boys should drive away
Little maidens from their play,
Or love to banter and fight so well,
That's the thing I never could tell.

But this I know, I love to play,
Through the meadow, among the hay:
Up the water and o'er the lea,
That's the way for Billy and me.

WHEN all the world is young, lad,

And all the trees are green;
And every goose a swan, lad,

And every lass a queen;
Then hey for boot and horse, lad,

And round the world away;

Young blood must have its course, lad,
And every dog his day.

When all the world is old, lad,

And all the trees are brown;

And all the sport is stale, lad,
And all the wheels run down;
Creep home, and take your place there,
The spent and maimed among:

God grant you find one face there,
You loved when all was young.

THE SPRING JOURNEY.

Oн, green was the corn as I rode on my way,
And bright were the dews on the blossoms of May,
And dark was the sycamore's shade to behold,
And the oak's tender leaf was of emerald and gold.

The thrush from his holly, the lark from his cloud,
Their chorus of rapture sang jovial and loud:
From the soft vernal sky to the soft grassy ground,
There was beauty above me, beneath, and around.

The mild southern breeze brought a shower from the hill;
And yet, though it left me all dripping and chill,

I felt a new pleasure as onward I sped,

To gaze where the rainbow gleamed broad overhead.

Oh, such be life's journey, and such be our skill,
To lose in its blessings the sense of its ills;

Through sunshine and shower may our progress be

even,

And our tears add a charm to the prospect of heaven!

- REGINALD HEBER.

IO.

OVER THE HILL.

"TRAVELLER, what lies over the hill?

Traveller, tell to me :

I am only a child from the window-sill
Over I cannot see."

66

Child, there's a valley over there,
Pretty and wooded and shy;

And a little brook that says, 'Take care,
Or I'll drown you by-and-by.'"

66 And what comes next?"

"A little town,

And a towering hill again;

More hills and valleys, up and down,

And a river now and then."

"And what comes next?" "A lonely moor

Without a beaten way;

And grey clouds sailing slow before

A wind that will not stay."

"And then?" "Dark rocks and yellow sand,

And a moaning sea beside."

"And then?" "More sea, more sea, more land,

And rivers deep and wide."

"And then?" "Oh, rock and mountain and vale, Rivers and fields and men,