THE DISCOVERER OF THE NORTH CAFE. A Leaf from King Alfred's

THE COURTSHIP OF MILES STANDISH.-1858. .

373

VOICES OF THE NIGHT.

PRELUDE.

PLEASANT it was, when woods were green,

And winds were soft and low,

To lie amid some sylvan scene,

Where, the long drooping boughs between,
Shadows dark and sunlight sheen
Alternate come and go;

Or where the denser grove receives
No sunlight from above,
But the dark foliage interweaves
In one unbroken roof of leaves,
Underneath whose sloping eaves
The shadows hardly move.

Beneath some patriarchal tree
I lay upon the ground;
His hoary arms uplifted he,

And all the broad leaves over me
Clapped their little hands in glee,
With one continuous sound ;-

A slumberous sound, a sound that brings The feelings of a dream,

As of innumerable wings,

As, when a bell no longer swings,

Faint the hollow murmur rings

O'er meadow, lake, and stream.

PRELUDE.

Dreams that the soul of youth engage
Ere Fancy has been quelled;
Old legends of the monkish page,
Traditions of the saint and sage,
Tales that have the rime of age,

And chronicles of Eld.

And, loving still these quaint old themes,
Even in the city's throng

I feel the freshness of the streams,

That, crossed by shades and sunny gleams,
Water the green land of dreams,

The holy land of song.

Therefore, at Pentecost, which brings

The spring, clothed like a bride, When nestling buds unfold their wings, And bishop's-caps have golden rings, Musing upon many things,

I sought the woodlands wide.

The green trees whispered low and mild;
It was a sound of joy!

They were my playmates when a child,
And rocked me in their arms so wild!
Still they looked at me and smiled,

As if I were a boy;

And ever whispered, mild and low,
"Come, be a child once more!"

And waved their long arms to and fro,
And beckoned solemnly and slow;

Oh, I could not choose but go

Into the woodlands hoar;

Into the blithe and breathing air,

Into the solemn wood,

Solemn and silent everywhere!

Nature with folded hands seemed there,

Kneeling at her evening prayer!

Like one in prayer I stood.

يت