A faithful nurse thou hast; the dam that did

thee yean

Upon the mountain-tops no kinder could have been.

Thou know'st that twice a day I have brought thee in this can

Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran; And twice in the day, when the ground is wet with

dew,

[new. I bring thee draughts of milk, warm milk it is and

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.

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

15

.............

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;

The little brooks that seem all pastime and all play, 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 seemed, 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,

66

For she looked with such a look, and she spake

with such a tone,

That I almost received her heart into my own."

TO A BUTTERFLY.

STAY near me-do not take thy flight!
A little longer stay in sight!
Much converse do I find in thee,
Historian of my infancy!

Float near me; do not yet depart !

Dead times revive in thee:

Thou bring'st, gay creature as thou art!

A solemn image to my heart,

My father's family!

Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days, The time, when, in our childish plays, My sister Emmeline and I

Together chased the butterfly!

A

very hunter did I rush

Upon the prey-with leaps and springs
I followed on from brake to bush;
But she, God love her! feared to brush
The dust from off its wings.

BEHOLD, within the leafy shade,
Those bright blue eggs together laid!
On me the chance-discovered sight
Gleamed like a vision of delight.
I started-seeming to espy

The home and sheltered bed,

The Sparrow's dwelling, which, hard by
My Father's house, in wet or dry
My sister Emmeline and I
Together visited.

She looked at it and seemed to fear it ;
Dreading, tho' wishing, to be near it :
Such heart was in her, being then

A little Prattler among men.
The Blessing of my later years

Was with me when a boy :

She gave me eyes, she gave me ears;
And humble cares, and delicate fears;
A heart, the fountain of sweet tears;

And love, and thought, and joy.