STANDARD He saw me, and he turn'd aside, To-day I fetch'd him from the rock; "When I was young, a single man, Of sheep I number'd a full score, "Year after year my stock it grew; Is all that is alive; And now I care not if we die, And perish all of poverty. "Six children, Sir, had I to feed; 'Do this; how can we give to you,' "I sold a sheep, as they had said, And bought my little children bread, And they were healthy with their food; "Another still! and still another! They dwindled, dwindled, one by one; Reckless of what might come at last, "To wicked deeds I was inclined, I went my work about; And oft was moved to flee from home A lamb, a wether, and a ewe, I had but only one : And here it lies upon my arm. To-day I fetch'd it from the rock It is the last of all my flock." W. Wordsworth. THE ROMANCE OF THE SWAN'S NEST. LITTLE Ellie sits alone, 'Mid the beeches of a meadow, By the stream-side on the grass; She has thrown her bonnet by; Little Ellie sits alone, And the smile she softly useth Fills the silence like a speech: Little Ellie in her smile That swan's nest among the reeds. "And the steed it shall be red-roan, With an eye that takes the breath, Shall strike ladies into trouble, As his sword strikes men to death. |