The shepherd knew the storm might last
Through all the day and night;
And feared his sheep, amid the blast,
Might stray far in their fright.

He kissed and charged his boy to stay

Behind the craggy steep;

And with his dog he went away
To gather in his sheep.

An hour had scarcely passed, when back
To the same spot he came,

Called on his boy; while rock to rock
But echoed back his name.

No trace, no track, no sound was there!
He searched, he called in vain;
Then home he rushed in wild despair,
Immediate help to gain.

He gathered friends and neighbours round-
They scaled the craggy height;
But he they sought could not be found,
Although they searched all night.

Three days and nights they still sought on;
Their efforts all were vain:

The shepherd's son was surely gone,

Never to come again.

Meantime, the shepherd's dog was seen,

When given its morning cake,

With the whole cake, his teeth between,
The hillside road to take.

M

The shepherd wondering what this meant-
His son still in his mind-
After the dog one morning went,
Which flew as fleet as wind.

Up, up a high o'erhanging crag,
The dog in haste hath gone,
Then gave his tail a joyous wag ;-
The shepherd followed on.

A rocky ledge at length he gained,
His heart beat thick with joy,
For lo! the cave above contained,
All safe, his darling boy!

The bread the hungry infant took,

The dog lay at his feet;

The cake in two the child then broke,
And then they both did eat.

Such feasts of love are seldom seen
In gay and festal halls,

As this poor shepherd saw within
That cavern's rocky walls.

. 36.

BUTTERCUPS AND DAISIES.

BUTTERCUPS and daisies, oh, the pretty flowers! Coming ere the spring-time, to tell of sunny hours. While the trees are leafless, while the fields are bare, Buttercups and daisies spring up here and there.

WHEN the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by;
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it;

When the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in the merry scene;
When Mary, and Susan, and Emily,

With their sweet round mouths sing, "Ha, ha, he!"

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,

Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread:

Come live and be merry, and join with me

To sing the sweet chorus of "Ha, ha, he!"

THE dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink ;
I heard a voice, it said," Drink, pretty creature, drink!"
And looking o'er the hedge, before me I espied

A snow-white mountain lamb, with a maiden at its side.

Nor sheep, nor kine were near; the lamb was all alone,
And by a slender cord was tether'd to a stone;
With one knee on the grass did the little maiden kneel,
While to that mountain lamb she gave its evening meal.

The lamb, while from her hand he thus his supper took, Seem'd to feast with head and ears; and his tail with pleasure shook:

"Drink, pretty creature, drink!" she said in such a tone That I almost received her heart into my own.

'Twas little Barbara Lewthwaite, a child of beauty rare!
I watch'd them with delight, they were a lovely pair;
Now with her empty can the maiden turn'd away;
But ere ten yards were gone, her footsteps did she stay.

Right towards the lamb she look'd; and from that shady place

I unobserved' could see the workings of her face;

If Nature to her tongue could measured numbers bring,' Thus, thought I, to her lamb that little maid might sing:

"What ails thee, Young one? what? Why pull so at thy cord ?

Is it not well with thee ? well both for bed and board ? Thy plot of grass is soft, and green as grass can be; Rest, little Young one, rest; what is't that aileth thee?

I unobserved, unseen.

2 If she could write in verse.

"What is it thou wouldst seek? What is wanting to thy

heart?

Thy limbs are they not strong? and beautiful thou art! This grass is tender grass; these flowers they have no peers;3 And that green corn all day is rustling in thy ears.

"If the sun be shining hot, do but stretch thy woollen chain;

This beech is standing by, its covert thou canst gain; For rain and mountain-storms !—the like thou need'st not fear,

The rain and storm are things that scarcely can come herc.

"Rest, little Young one, rest; thou hast forgot the day
When my father found thee first in places far away;
Many flocks were on the hills, but thou wert own'd by nonc,
And thy mother from thy side for evermore was gone.

“He took thee in his arms, and in pity brought thee home : A blessed day for thee !-then whither wouldst thou roam? A faithful nurse thou hast; the dam that did thee yean1 Upon the mountain-tops no kinder could have been.

"Thou know'st that twice a day I have brought thee in this

can

Fresh water from the brook, as clear as ever ran;

And twice in the day, when the ground is wet with dew,
I bring thee draughts of milk, warm milk it is and new.

"Thy limbs will shortly be twice as stout as they are now, Then I'll yoke thee to my cart like a pony in the plough! My playmate thou shalt be; and when the wind is cold Our hearth shall be thy bed, our house shall be thy fold.