! 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:
The little brooks that seem all pastime and at 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;
For she looked with such a look, and she spake with such a tone,
That I almost received her heart into my own.

[Illustration: Father William and the Young Man.]

FATHER WILLIAM AND THE YOUNG MAN.

You are old, Father William, the young man cries
The few locks which are left you are gray:
You appear, Father William, a healthy old man,
Now tell me the reason, I pray.

When I was a youth, Father William replied,
I remembered that youth would fly fast:
I abused not my health and my vigor at first,
That I never might need them at last.

You are old, Father William, the young man said,
And pleasures, with youth, pass away;
And yet you repent not the days that are gone
Now tell me the reason, I pray.

When I was a youth, Father William replied,
I remembered that youth could not last:
I thought of the future, whatever I did,
That I never might grieve for the past.

You are old, Father William, the young man still cries,
And life is swift hastening away.
You are cheerful, and love to converse upon death!
Come tell me the reason, I pray.

I am cheerful, young man, Father William replied;
Let the cause your attention engage:
In the days of my youth I remembered my God!
And he hath not forgotten my age.

The little Girl and her Pets.

[Illustration]

_Girl._ Swallow, thou dear