Outside the blast is making riot, And through the darkness the snowflakes fall;
Here in my little room all is quiet, Warm and dry, and so snug withal.
Musing I sit on my cushioned settle, Facing the firelight's fitful shine;
Sings on the hob the simmering kettle, Songs that seem echoes of "auld lang syne."
And close beside me the cat sits purring, Warming her paws at the cheery gleam;
The flames keep flitting, and flickering, and whirring, - My mind is lapped in a realm of dream.
Many long, long forgotten summers Rise up, wraith-like, before my view,
Some in the brightness of masking mummers, Some with their splendors bedimmed in hue.
Lovely, serene-faced women sweetly Meanings divine in a glance convey;
Revellers, mingling among them fleetly, Caper and laugh, and are madly gay.
Marble gods in the distance tower; Near them, dream-like in beauty rare,
Is a fairy grove that has burst in flower, And sheds perfume on the moonlit air.
Castles full many of wizard story Totter along with their crests awry;
Knights behind them, in full-plumed glory, With troops of their squires come riding by.
'Tis gone! The beautiful dream is over! Away like a phantom the pageant draws!
Oh dear! The kettle is boiling over, And pussy is yelling with scalded paws.
Blackwood's Magazine.
AN APRIL WOOD.
Sweet April sat in a regal wood, And I sat down by her side;
Glad with the promise of leaf and of bud,
Flushed with the glory of Sol's bright flood, - There she sat in her queenly pride.
Out and away from the regal wood Cloud-isles hung in the motionless sky;
And the heavenly league, and the earthly rood,
Seem'd fresh from the voice that pronounced them "good," - And happy were April and I.
In and about in the regal wood The birds were full of April glee;
On a leafing elm a bold thrush stood,
Singing a song that was understood By a mate on a neighboring tree.
But a cloud came over the regal wood, In the scream of a frighted hare;
A hound pursued it eager for blood;
A squirrel nigh me shook where it stood; And I fancied the world less fair.
Then I rose to depart from the regal wood, And saw in the grass that there lay
A glittering snake with a raven hood;
The sight of it cooled and curdled my blood: I trembled, - and went on my way.
When the winds go Maying, All in the woods so green, The village chimes, In the good old times, Rung out for the young May-queen. 'Twas a goodly sight When the maidens bright, And the lads of generous mould,
Went out with the winds a-Maying In the merry days of old. A-Maying! A-Maying!
Went out with the winds a-Maying In the merry days of old!
II.
When the winds go Maying The emerald meadows through, 'Twas a maiden freak, Each rosy cheek To bathe in the young May dew; And the dainty girls, With the dewy pearls, Decked. their hair of the silken gold,
When they went with the winds a-Maying In the merry days of old. A-Maying! A-Maying!
When they went with~ the winds a-Maying In the merry days of old!
III.
When the winds go Maying
By streamlet, grove, and hill, Young Summer, drest In her May-day vest, Will gladly hail them still. And the maidens gay Will dance and play With the lads of generous mould,
As they did when the winds went Maying In the merry days of old. A-Maying! A-Maying!
As when the winds went Maying In the merry days of old.
