The Book of Poetry

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.

THE FAIRIES OF THE CALDON-LOW.
ND where have you been,

my Mary,
And where have you been

from me ?” “ 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 ;

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;

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