Right towards the lamb she look'd; and from that shady
place

I unobserved could see the workings of her face;

If Nature to her tongue could measured numbers* bring, Measured 20 Thus, thought I, to her lamb that little maid might sing:

25

"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?
"What is it thou would seek? What is wanting to thy
heart?

Thy limbs are they not strong? and beautiful thou art!
This grass is tender grass; these flowers they have no

peers;

*

And that green corn all day is rustling in thy ears.

"If the sun be shining hot, do but stretch thy woollen
chain;

*

numbers, if she could write verse.

Peers, equals.

Covert,cover

30 This beech is standing by, its covert thou canst gain;
For rain and mountain-storms !-the like thou need'st ing; it could
not fear,

The rain and storm are things that scarcely can come
here.

"Rest, little Young one, rest; thou hast forgot the day
When my father found thee first in places far away;
35 Many flocks were on the hills, but thou wert own'd by

none,

And thy mother from thy side for evermore was gone.

"He took thee in his arms, and in pity brought thee
home :

A blessed day for thee !-then whither wouldst thou

roam ?

*

A faithful nurse thou hast ; the dam that did thee yean 40 Upon the mountain-tops no kinder could have been. "Thou know'st that twice a day I have brought thee in

45

this can

lie in the shade of the beech-tree.

Dam, a female sheep having lambs.

ten it to the cart like a horse, to har

Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran ;
And twice in the day, when the ground is wet with dew, Yoke, to fas-
I bring thee draughts of milk, warm milk it is and new.
"Thy limbs will shortly be twice as stout as they are now,
Then I'll yoke* thee to my cart like a pony in the plough!
My playmate thou shalt be; and when the wind is cold
Our hearth shall be thy bed, our house shall be thy fold.*

ness it.
Fold, an en-

closed place
for keeping

sheep.

Belike, perhaps, probably.

Raven, a bird of prey.

"It will not, will not rest !—Poor creature, can it be That 'tis thy mother's heart which is working so in

thee?

Things that I know not of belike * to thee are dear, And dreams of things which thou canst neither see nor hear.

Alas, the mountain-tops that look so green and fair I've heard of fearful winds and darkness that come

there;

50

The little brooks that seem all pastime and all play, 55
When they are angry, roar like lions for their prey.
"Here thou need'st not dread the raven* in the sky;
Night and day thou art safe,-our cottage is hard by.
Why bleat so after me? Why pull so at thy chain?
Sleep-and at break of day I will come to thee
again!"

-As homeward through the lane I went with lazy
feet,

This song to myself did I oftentimes repeat;
And it seem'd, as I retraced the ballad line by line,
That but half of it was hers, and one half of it was

mine

Again, and once again, did I repeat the song;
"Nay," said I, "more than half to the damsel must

belong!

For she look'd with such a look, and she spake with

such a tone,

That I almost received her heart into my own."

protected, to keep off anything hurtful. Vacant, empty.

Mournings, sorrow-
ing for the dead.

Rachel, daughter of
Laban and wife of
Jacob.

Afflictions, trials,
hardships.

Celestial, heavenly.

Bene lictions, blessings.

RESIGNATION.-Longfellow.

60

65

THERE is no flock, however watched and tended,*

But one dead lamb is there!

There is no fire-side, howso'er defended,*
But has one vacant* chair!

The air is full of farewells to the dying,
And mournings for the dead;

The heart of Rachel * for her children crying,
Will not be comforted.

Let us be patient! These severe afflictions
Not from the ground arise,

But oftentimes celestial* benedictions*
Assume this dark disguise.

*

5

IO

We see but dimly through the mists and vapours,
Amid these earthly damps,

15 What seem to us but sad, funereal * tapers
May be heaven's distant lamps.

20

*

Funereal, dismal,
like a funeral.
Tapers, wax candles.

There is no death! What seems so is transition!* Transition, passage

In that great cloister's* stillness and seclusion,
By guardian angels led,

Safe from temptation, safe from sin's pollution,*
She lives, whom we call dead.

25 Day after day we think what she is doing
In those bright realms * of air ;
Year after year, her tender steps pursuing,*
Behold her grown more fair.

30

*

Thus do we walk with her, and keep unbroken
The bond which Nature gives,
Thinking that our remembrance, though un-
spoken,

May reach her where she lives.

Not as a child shall we again behold her;
For when with raptures* wild,

35 In our embraces we again enfold her.
She will not be a child

40

But a fair maiden, in her Father's mansion,
Clothed with celestial grace;

*

And beautiful with all the soul's expansion,*
Shall we behold her face.

And though at times impetuous* with emotion*
And anguish long suppressed,

The swelling heart heaves moaning like the

ocean

That cannot be at rest,

45 We will be patient, and assuage* the feeling We may not wholly stay;

By silence sanctifying, not concealing,*

The grief that must have way.

SOME MURMUR.-Archbishop Trench.

RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH (1807- ), now Archbishop of Dublin, is the author of The Study of Words; English Past and Present, &c. In early life he published several volumes of poems, in a style resembling that of Wordsworth.

BEN JONSON (1573-1637) was the son of a clergyman, and received a university education. He wrote very many plays and poems, some of them marked by great powers. He also perfected the compositions called Masques, which formed a favourite amusement of the Court. It is to his credit that his constant aim was to improve the morals of the day. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, and the flagstone over his grave was inscribed with the words, "O rare Ben Jonson!"

66

Sere, withered.

Just, true.

Measures, in short periods of time.

Ir is not growing like a tree

In bulk doth make Man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:
A lily of a day

*

Is fairer far in May,
Although it fall and die that night-
It was the plant and flower of Light!
In small proportions we just * beauties see;
And in short measures* life may perfect be.

5

IO

ABOU-BEN-ADHEM AND THE ANGEL.-Leigh Hunt. LEIGH HUNT (1784-1859) was an essayist and critic of the first half of this century. In early life he was editor of the Examiner, a London newspaper. Chief poems: Feast of the Poets, a legend of Florence; and The Palfrey.

ABOU-BEN-ADHEM (may his tribe * increase)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,
5 An angel writing in a book of gold

Exceeding peace had made Ben-Adhem bold,
And to the Presence in the room he said,
"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its
head,

And with a look made all of sweet accord,

it

Tribe, at first meant a third part, afterwards any division of people; a race or family from the same ancestor; a body of people

under one leader.

Exceeding, very

much, very great.

IO Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."
"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"
Replied the Angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerily still; and said, "I pray thee then
Write me as one that loves his fellow-men."

Lo! look, see, be

15 The angel wrote and vanished. The next night It came again with a great wakening light, And showed the names whom love of God had hold; it is a contrac

blest,

And, lo! Ben-Adhem's name led all the rest.*

tion of the word look. Led all the rest, stood first on the list.

THE DESTRUCTION OF SENNACHERIB'S * ARMY.

Byron.

THE Assyrian came down like the wolf on the

fold,

And his cohorts* were gleaming with purple
and gold,*

And the sheen of their spears was like stars

on the sea,

When the blue waves roll nightly on deep
Galilee.*

Cohorts, among the

Romans, a body of 500 or 600 men, the tenth

part of a legion; here

it means a company of soldiers.

Purple and gold, the

dresses of the officers adorned with gold lace.

5 Like the leaves of the forest when summer is Galilee, the sea of

*

green,

That host with their banners at sunset were

seen;

Galilee or lake of Gennesareth in Palestine was noted for its frequent storms.

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judea in the reign of Hezekiah. He afterwards threatened to destroy the king, but a "blast" from the Lord killed 185,000 of his men in one night.