Phebe, The Blackberry Girl | Page 3

as clear as ever
ran;
And twice in the day,
when the ground is wet with
dew,
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.
[Illustration]
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:
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.
Girl Swallow, thou dear one! now thou,
indeed,
From thy wandering dost reappear,
Tell me, who is it to thee that hath said
That again it is spring-time here.
Swa. The fatherly God, in that far-off clime,
Who sent me, he told me 'twas sweet
spring-time.

And though she had come so far and wide,
She was not deceived in time or tide.
[Illustration]
The snow it was gone, the sun shone warm,
The merry gnats danced in many a swarm,
The Swallow knew neither want nor care,
She found for her children enough and to
spare.
Girl Come, little Dog, 'tis your master's will
That you learn to sit upright and still.
Dog Learn must I? I'm so small,

you see,
Just for a little while let it be!
Girl No, little Dog, it is far best to learn
soon,
For later it would be more painfully done.