148 SUMMER-TIME. SUMMER-TIME. WHAT is so rare as a day in June? An instinct within it that reaches and towers, Thrilling back over woodlands and valleys; The buttercup catches the sun in its chalice, With the deluge of summer it receives; And the heart in her dumb breast flutters and sings; And whatever of life hath ebbed away Into every bare inlet and creek and bay; WINTER-TIME. Now the heart is so full that a drop o'erfills it, The breeze comes whispering in our ear That maize has sprouted, that streams are flowing, That the river is bluer than the sky, That the robin is plastering his house hard by; We could guess it all by yon heifer's lowing- Tells all in his lusty crowing! James Russell Lowell. WINTER-TIME. DOWN swept the chill wind from the mountain-peak, On open wold and hill-top bleak It had gathered all the cold, And whirled it like sleet on the wanderer's cheek; From the unleafed boughs and pastures bare; 149 150 WINTER-TIME. Slender and clear were his crystal spars Sometimes the roof no fretwork knew For the gladness of Heaven to shine through; and here And hung them thickly with diamond drops No mortal builder's most rare device 'Twas as if ev'ry image that mirrored lay J. R. Lowell CHRISTMAS CAROL. 151 CHRISTMAS CAROL. OUTLANDERS, whence come ye last? The snow in the street and the wind on the door. Through what green seas and great have ye past? Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. From far away, O masters mine, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. We come to bear you goodly wine, Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. From far away we come to you, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. To tell of great tidings strange and true, Ministrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. News, news of the Trinity, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. And Mary and Joseph from over the sea! Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. For as we wandered far and wide, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. What hap do ye deem there should us betide! Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. Under a bent when the night was deep, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. There lay three shepherds tending their sheep. Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. 152 CHRISTMAS CAROL. "O ye shepherds, what have ye seen, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. "In an ox-stall this night we saw, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. "There was an old man there beside, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. "And as we gazed this thing upon, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. "And a marvellous song we straight did hear, The snow in the street and the wind on the door. News of a fair and a marvellous thing, The snow in the street and the wind on the door, Minstrels and maids, stand forth on the floor. William Morris. |