He said he had fished this very stream
three-and-forty years ago; and near by, in the Paradise Valley,
he wrote his famous play._--Leaf from my Diary.
We met on Nature's stage,
And May had set the scene,
With bishop-caps standing in delicate ranks,
And violets blossoming over the banks,
While the brook ran full between.
The waters rang your call,
With frolicsome waves a-twinkle,--
They knew you as boy, and they knew you as man,
And every wave, as it merrily ran,
Cried, "Enter Rip van Winkle!"
THE MOCKING-BIRD
In mirth he mocks the other birds at noon,
Catching the lilt of every easy tune;
But when the day departs he sings of love,--
His own wild song beneath the listening moon.
THE EMPTY QUATRAIN
A flawless cup: how delicate and fine
The flowing curve of every jewelled line!
Look, turn it up or down, 'tis perfect still,--
But holds no drop of life's heart-warming wine.
PAN LEARNS MUSIC
FOR A SCULPTURE BY SARA GREENE
Limber-limbed, lazy god, stretched on the rock,
Where is sweet Echo, and where is your flock?
What are you making here? "Listen," said Pan,--
"Out of a river-reed music for man!"
THE SHEPHERD OF NYMPHS
The nymphs a shepherd took
To guard their snowy sheep;
He led them down along the brook,
And guided them with pipe and crook,
Until he fell asleep.
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