PAGE

158

159

160

161

164

167

169

171

173

174

176

177

177

178

180

182

183

183

184

186

THE

Book of Poetry.

PART I.

B

To the good Reader.

If thou wouldst find what holiest men have sought-
Communion with the power of poesy-
Empty thy mind of all unquiet thought;
Lay bare thy spirit to the vaulting sky
And glory of the sunshine; go and stand
Where nodding briers sport with the water-break,
Or by the plashings of a moonlit creek,

Or breast the wind upon some jutting land.
The most unheeded things have influences
That sink into the soul: in after hours
We oft are tempted suddenly to dress

The tombs of half-forgotten moods with flowers:
Our own choice mocks us; and the sweetest themes
Come to us without call,-wayward as dreams.

"I have been to the top of the Caldon-Low, The midsummer night to see."

“And what did you see, my Mary, All up on the Caldon-Low?"

"I saw the blithe sunshine come down, And I saw the merry winds blow."

"And what did you hear, my Mary,
All up on the Caldon-Hill?"
"I heard the drops of the water made,
And the green corn ears to fill."

"Oh, tell me all, my Mary,All, all that ever you know;

4

THE FAIRIES OF CALDON-LOW.

For you must have seen the fairies
Last night on the Caldon-Low."
"Then take me on your knee, mother,
And listen, mother mine:

A hundred fairies danced last night,
And the harpers they were nine.

And merry was the glee of the harp-strings,
And their dancing feet so small;
But, oh, the sound of their talking
Was merrier far than all !

*

For some they played with the water,
And rolled it down the hill;

*

*

*

And this,' they said, 'shall speedily turn
The poor old miller's mill.

For there has been no water
Ever since the first of May;
And a busy man shall the miller be
By the dawning of the day.

Oh, the miller, how he will laugh
When he sees the mill-dam rise!
The jolly old miller, how he will laugh,
Till the tears fill both his eyes!'

And some they seized the little winds
That sounded over the hill,

And each put a horn into his mouth,
And blew so sharp and shrill :

'And there,' said they, 'ye merry winds go, Away from every horn;