LEGENDARY.

AMONG GREEN PLEASANT MEADOWS.

AMONG green, pleasant meadows,

All in a grove so wild,

Was set a marble image

Of the Virgin and the Child.

Here oft, on summer evenings,
A lovely boy would rove,
To play beside the image
That sanctified the grove

Oft sat his mother by him,
Among the shadows dim,

And told how the Lord Jesus
Was once a child like him.

"And now from highest heaven
He doth look down each day,

And sees whate'er thou doest,

And hears what thou dost say!"

Thus spoke his tender mother;
And, on an evening bright,
When the red, round sun descended
Mid clouds of crimson light

Again the boy was playing ;
And earnestly said he,
"O beautiful child Jesus,

Come down and play with me!

"I will find thee flowers the fairest,
And weave for thee a crown;
I will get thee ripe, red strawberries,
If thou wilt but come down.

"O holy, holy mother!

Put him down from off thy knee; For in these silent meadows

There are none to play with me."

Thus spoke the boy so lovely,
The while his mother heard,
And on his prayer she pondered,
But spoke to him no word.

That self-same night she dreamèd
A lovely dream of joy :
She thought she saw young Jesus
There, playing with the boy.

"And for the fruits and flowers

Which thou hast brought to me,

Rich blessing shall be given

A thousand-fold to thee.

"For in the fields of heaven

Thou shalt roam with me at will;

And of bright fruit celestial

Thou shalt have, dear child, thy fill !"

Thus tenderly and kindly
The fair child Jesus spoke ;
And, full of careful musings,

The anxious mother woke

And thus it was accomplished:
In a short month and a day,
That lovely boy, so gentle,
Upon his death-bed lay.

And thus he spoke, in dying :
"O mother dear, I see
The beautiful child Jesus
A-coming down to me!

"And in his hand he beareth
Bright flowers as white as snow,
And red and juicy strawberries;
Dear mother, let me go!"

He died -but that fond mother
Her sorrow did restrain;
For she knew he was with Jesus,
And she asked him not again !

THE FAIRIES OF THE CALDON-LOW.

"AND where have you been, my Mary,
And where have you been from me?"
"I've 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 water made,
And I heard the corn-ears fill."

"Then take me on your knee, mother,
And listen, mother of 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 ! "

"And what were the words, my Mary,
That you did hear them say ?"
"I'll tell you all, my mother,

But let me have my way.

"And 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,

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And blew so sharp and shrill!

And there,' said they, 'the merry winds
Away from every horn;

And those shall clear the mildew dank
From the blind old widow's corn:

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Oh, the poor blind widow

Though she has been blind so long,

go

She'll be merry enough when the mildew's gone, And the corn stands stiff and strong!'

"And some they brought the brown linseed,
And flung it down from the Low:
'And this,' said they, 'by the sunrise,
In the wearer's croft shall grow!

Oh, the poor lame weaver!
How will he laugh outright
When he sees his dwindling flax-field
All full of flowers by night!'

And then upspoke a brownie, With a long beard on his chin ; 'I have spun up all the tow', said he, 'And I want some more to spin.