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diff --git a/136-0.txt b/136-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6f2ccdf --- /dev/null +++ b/136-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1819 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 136 *** + +********************************************************************** +THIS EBOOK WAS ONE OF PROJECT GUTENBERG'S EARLY FILES PRODUCED AT A +TIME WHEN PROOFING METHODS AND TOOLS WERE NOT WELL DEVELOPED. THERE IS +AN IMPROVED EDITION OF THIS TITLE WHICH MAY BE VIEWED AT EBOOK (#28722) +********************************************************************** + + + + + + + + + + +A Child's Garden of Verses + +by + +Robert Louis Stevenson + + + + + To Alison Cunningham + + From Her Boy + + + For the long nights you lay awake + And watched for my unworthy sake: + For your most comfortable hand + That led me through the uneven land: + For all the story-books you read: + For all the pains you comforted: + + For all you pitied, all you bore, + In sad and happy days of yore:-- + My second Mother, my first Wife, + The angel of my infant life-- + From the sick child, now well and old, + Take, nurse, the little book you hold! + + And grant it, Heaven, that all who read + May find as dear a nurse at need, + And every child who lists my rhyme, + In the bright, fireside, nursery clime, + May hear it in as kind a voice + As made my childish days rejoice! + + R. L. S. + + + + + Contents + + To Alison Cunningham + + I Bed in Summer + II A Thought + III At the Sea-Side + IV Young Night-Thought + V Whole Duty of Children + VI Rain + VII Pirate Story + VIII Foreign Lands + IX Windy Nights + X Travel + XI Singing + XII Looking Forward + XIII A Good Play + XIV Where Go the Boats? + XV Auntie's Skirts + XVI The Land of Counterpane + XVII The Land of Nod + XVIII My Shadow + XIX System + XX A Good Boy + XXI Escape at Bedtime + XXII Marching Song + XXIII The Cow + XXIV The Happy Thought + XXV The Wind + XXVI Keepsake Mill + XXVII Good and Bad Children + XXVIII Foreign Children + XXIX The Sun Travels + XXX The Lamplighter + XXXI My Bed is a Boat + XXXII The Moon + XXXIII The Swing + XXXIV Time to Rise + XXXV Looking-Glass River + XXXVI Fairy Bread + XXXVII From a Railway Carriage + XXXVIII Winter-Time + XXXIX The Hayloft + XL Farewell to the Farm + XLI North-West Passage + 1. Good-Night + 2. Shadow March + 3. In Port + + + + + The Child Alone + + I The Unseen Playmate + II My Ship and I + III My Kingdom + IV Picture-Books in Winter + V My Treasures + VI Block City + VII The Land of Story-Books + VIII Armies in the Fire + IX The Little Land + + + + + Garden Days + + I Night and Day + II Nest Eggs + III The Flowers + IV Summer Sun + V The Dumb Soldier + VI Autumn Fires + VII The Gardener + VIII Historical Associations + + + Envoys + + I To Willie and Henrietta + II To My Mother + III To Auntie + IV To Minnie + V To My Name-Child + VI To Any Reader + + + + A Child's Garden of Verses + + + + I + Bed in Summer + + In winter I get up at night + And dress by yellow candle-light. + In summer quite the other way, + I have to go to bed by day. + + I have to go to bed and see + The birds still hopping on the tree, + Or hear the grown-up people's feet + Still going past me in the street. + + And does it not seem hard to you, + When all the sky is clear and blue, + And I should like so much to play, + To have to go to bed by day? + + II + A Thought + + It is very nice to think + The world is full of meat and drink, + With little children saying grace + In every Christian kind of place. + + + III + At the Sea-Side + + When I was down beside the sea + A wooden spade they gave to me + To dig the sandy shore. + + My holes were empty like a cup. + In every hole the sea came up, + Till it could come no more. + + + IV + Young Night-Thought + + All night long and every night, + When my mama puts out the light, + I see the people marching by, + As plain as day before my eye. + + Armies and emperor and kings, + All carrying different kinds of things, + And marching in so grand a way, + You never saw the like by day. + + So fine a show was never seen + At the great circus on the green; + For every kind of beast and man + Is marching in that caravan. + + As first they move a little slow, + But still the faster on they go, + And still beside me close I keep + Until we reach the town of Sleep. + + + V + Whole Duty of Children + + A child should always say what's true + And speak when he is spoken to, + And behave mannerly at table; + At least as far as he is able. + + + VI + Rain + + The rain is falling all around, + It falls on field and tree, + It rains on the umbrellas here, + And on the ships at sea. + + + VII + Pirate Story + + Three of us afloat in the meadow by the swing, + Three of us abroad in the basket on the lea. + Winds are in the air, they are blowing in the spring, + And waves are on the meadow like the waves there are at sea. + + Where shall we adventure, to-day that we're afloat, + Wary of the weather and steering by a star? + Shall it be to Africa, a-steering of the boat, + To Providence, or Babylon or off to Malabar? + + Hi! but here's a squadron a-rowing on the sea-- + Cattle on the meadow a-charging with a roar! + Quick, and we'll escape them, they're as mad as they can be, + The wicket is the harbour and the garden is the shore. + + + VIII + Foreign Lands + + Up into the cherry tree + Who should climb but little me? + I held the trunk with both my hands + And looked abroad in foreign lands. + + I saw the next door garden lie, + Adorned with flowers, before my eye, + And many pleasant places more + That I had never seen before. + + I saw the dimpling river pass + And be the sky's blue looking-glass; + The dusty roads go up and down + With people tramping in to town. + + If I could find a higher tree + Farther and farther I should see, + To where the grown-up river slips + Into the sea among the ships, + + To where the roads on either hand + Lead onward into fairy land, + Where all the children dine at five, + And all the playthings come alive. + + IX + Windy Nights + + Whenever the moon and stars are set, + Whenever the wind is high, + All night long in the dark and wet, + A man goes riding by. + Late in the night when the fires are out, + Why does he gallop and gallop about? + + Whenever the trees are crying aloud, + And ships are tossed at sea, + By, on the highway, low and loud, + By at the gallop goes he. + By at the gallop he goes, and then + By he comes back at the gallop again. + + + X + Travel + + I should like to rise and go + Where the golden apples grow;-- + Where below another sky + Parrot islands anchored lie, + And, watched by cockatoos and goats, + Lonely Crusoes building boats;-- + Where in sunshine reaching out + Eastern cities, miles about, + Are with mosque and minaret + Among sandy gardens set, + And the rich goods from near and far + Hang for sale in the bazaar;-- + Where the Great Wall round China goes, + And on one side the desert blows, + And with the voice and bell and drum, + Cities on the other hum;-- + Where are forests hot as fire, + Wide as England, tall as a spire, + Full of apes and cocoa-nuts + And the negro hunters' huts;-- + Where the knotty crocodile + Lies and blinks in the Nile, + And the red flamingo flies + Hunting fish before his eyes;-- + Where in jungles near and far, + Man-devouring tigers are, + Lying close and giving ear + Lest the hunt be drawing near, + Or a comer-by be seen + Swinging in the palanquin;-- + Where among the desert sands + Some deserted city stands, + All its children, sweep and prince, + Grown to manhood ages since, + Not a foot in street or house, + Not a stir of child or mouse, + And when kindly falls the night, + In all the town no spark of light. + There I'll come when I'm a man + With a camel caravan; + Light a fire in the gloom + Of some dusty dining room; + See the pictures on the walls, + Heroes, fights and festivals; + And in a corner find the toys + Of the old Egyptian boys. + + + XI + Singing + + Of speckled eggs the birdie sings + And nests among the trees; + The sailor sings of ropes and things + In ships upon the seas. + + The children sing in far Japan, + The children sing in Spain; + The organ with the organ man + Is singing in the rain. + + + XII + Looking Forward + + When I am grown to man's estate + I shall be very proud and great, + And tell the other girls and boys + Not to meddle with my toys. + + + XIII + A Good Play + + We built a ship upon the stairs + All made of the back-bedroom chairs, + And filled it full of sofa pillows + To go a-sailing on the billows. + + We took a saw and several nails, + And water in the nursery pails; + And Tom said, "Let us also take + An apple and a slice of cake;"-- + Which was enough for Tom and me + To go a-sailing on, till tea. + + We sailed along for days and days, + And had the very best of plays; + But Tom fell out and hurt his knee, + So there was no one left but me. + + XIV + Where Go the Boats? + + Dark brown is the river, + Golden is the sand. + It flows along for ever, + With trees on either hand. + + Green leaves a-floating, + Castles of the foam, + Boats of mine a-boating-- + Where will all come home? + + On goes the river + And out past the mill, + Away down the valley, + Away down the hill. + + Away down the river, + A hundred miles or more, + Other little children + Shall bring my boats ashore. + + + XV + Auntie's Skirts + + Whenever Auntie moves around, + Her dresses make a curious sound, + They trail behind her up the floor, + And trundle after through the door. + + + XVI + The Land of Counterpane + + When I was sick and lay a-bed, + I had two pillows at my head, + And all my toys beside me lay, + To keep me happy all the day. + + And sometimes for an hour or so + I watched my leaden soldiers go, + With different uniforms and drills, + Among the bed-clothes, through the hills; + + And sometimes sent my ships in fleets + All up and down among the sheets; + Or brought my trees and houses out, + And planted cities all about. + + I was the giant great and still + That sits upon the pillow-hill, + And sees before him, dale and plain, + The pleasant land of counterpane. + + + XVII + The Land of Nod + + From breakfast on through all the day + At home among my friends I stay, + But every night I go abroad + Afar into the land of Nod. + + All by myself I have to go, + With none to tell me what to do-- + All alone beside the streams + And up the mountain-sides of dreams. + + The strangest things are these for me, + Both things to eat and things to see, + And many frightening sights abroad + Till morning in the land of Nod. + + Try as I like to find the way, + I never can get back by day, + Nor can remember plain and clear + The curious music that I hear. + + + XVIII + My Shadow + + I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me, + And what can be the use of him is more than I can see. + He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head; + And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed. + + The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow-- + Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow; + For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball, + And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all. + + He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play, + And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way. + He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see; + I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me! + + One morning, very early, before the sun was up, + I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup; + But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head, + Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed. + + + XIX + System + + Every night my prayers I say, + And get my dinner every day; + And every day that I've been good, + I get an orange after food. + + The child that is not clean and neat, + With lots of toys and things to eat, + He is a naughty child, I'm sure-- + Or else his dear papa is poor. + + + XX + A Good Boy + + I woke before the morning, I was happy all the day, + I never said an ugly word, but smiled and stuck to play. + + And now at last the sun is going down behind the wood, + And I am very happy, for I know that I've been good. + + My bed is waiting cool and fresh, with linen smooth and fair, + And I must be off to sleepsin-by, and not forget my prayer. + + I know that, till to-morrow I shall see the sun arise, + No ugly dream shall fright my mind, no ugly sight my eyes. + + But slumber hold me tightly till I waken in the dawn, + And hear the thrushes singing in the lilacs round the lawn. + + + XXI + Escape at Bedtime + + The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out + Through the blinds and the windows and bars; + And high overhead and all moving about, + There were thousands of millions of stars. + There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree, + Nor of people in church or the Park, + As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me, + And that glittered and winked in the dark. + + The Dog, and the Plough, and the Hunter, and all, + And the star of the sailor, and Mars, + These shown in the sky, and the pail by the wall + Would be half full of water and stars. + They saw me at last, and they chased me with cries, + And they soon had me packed into bed; + But the glory kept shining and bright in my eyes, + And the stars going round in my head. + + + XXII + Marching Song + + Bring the comb and play upon it! + Marching, here we come! + Willie cocks his highland bonnet, + Johnnie beats the drum. + + Mary Jane commands the party, + Peter leads the rear; + Feet in time, alert and hearty, + Each a Grenadier! + + All in the most martial manner + Marching double-quick; + While the napkin, like a banner, + Waves upon the stick! + + Here's enough of fame and pillage, + Great commander Jane! + Now that we've been round the village, + Let's go home again. + + + XXIII + The Cow + + The friendly cow all red and white, + I love with all my heart: + She gives me cream with all her might, + To eat with apple-tart. + + She wanders lowing here and there, + And yet she cannot stray, + All in the pleasant open air, + The pleasant light of day; + + And blown by all the winds that pass + And wet with all the showers, + She walks among the meadow grass + And eats the meadow flowers. + + + XXIV + Happy Thought + + The world is so full of a number of things, + I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings. + + + XXV + The Wind + + I saw you toss the kites on high + And blow the birds about the sky; + And all around I heard you pass, + Like ladies' skirts across the grass-- + O wind, a-blowing all day long, + O wind, that sings so loud a song! + + I saw the different things you did, + But always you yourself you hid. + I felt you push, I heard you call, + I could not see yourself at all-- + O wind, a-blowing all day long, + O wind, that sings so loud a song! + + O you that are so strong and cold, + O blower, are you young or old? + Are you a beast of field and tree, + Or just a stronger child than me? + O wind, a-blowing all day long, + O wind, that sings so loud a song! + + + XXVI + Keepsake Mill + + Over the borders, a sin without pardon, + Breaking the branches and crawling below, + Out through the breach in the wall of the garden, + Down by the banks of the river we go. + + Here is a mill with the humming of thunder, + Here is the weir with the wonder of foam, + Here is the sluice with the race running under-- + Marvellous places, though handy to home! + + Sounds of the village grow stiller and stiller, + Stiller the note of the birds on the hill; + Dusty and dim are the eyes of the miller, + Deaf are his ears with the moil of the mill. + + Years may go by, and the wheel in the river + Wheel as it wheels for us, children, to-day, + Wheel and keep roaring and foaming for ever + Long after all of the boys are away. + + Home for the Indies and home from the ocean, + Heroes and soldiers we all will come home; + Still we shall find the old mill wheel in motion, + Turning and churning that river to foam. + + You with the bean that I gave when we quarrelled, + I with your marble of Saturday last, + Honoured and old and all gaily apparelled, + Here we shall meet and remember the past. + + + XXVII + Good and Bad Children + + Children, you are very little, + And your bones are very brittle; + If you would grow great and stately, + You must try to walk sedately. + + You must still be bright and quiet, + And content with simple diet; + And remain, through all bewild'ring, + Innocent and honest children. + + Happy hearts and happy faces, + Happy play in grassy places-- + That was how in ancient ages, + Children grew to kings and sages. + + But the unkind and the unruly, + And the sort who eat unduly, + They must never hope for glory-- + Theirs is quite a different story! + + Cruel children, crying babies, + All grow up as geese and gabies, + Hated, as their age increases, + By their nephews and their nieces. + + + XXVIII + Foreign Children + + Little Indian, Sioux, or Crow, + Little frosty Eskimo, + Little Turk or Japanee, + Oh! don't you wish that you were me? + + You have seen the scarlet trees + And the lions over seas; + You have eaten ostrich eggs, + And turned the turtles off their legs. + + Such a life is very fine, + But it's not so nice as mine: + You must often as you trod, + Have wearied NOT to be abroad. + + You have curious things to eat, + I am fed on proper meat; + You must dwell upon the foam, + But I am safe and live at home. + Little Indian, Sioux or Crow, + Little frosty Eskimo, + Little Turk or Japanee, + Oh! don't you wish that you were me? + + + XXIX + The Sun Travels + + The sun is not a-bed, when I + At night upon my pillow lie; + Still round the earth his way he takes, + And morning after morning makes. + + While here at home, in shining day, + We round the sunny garden play, + Each little Indian sleepy-head + Is being kissed and put to bed. + + And when at eve I rise from tea, + Day dawns beyond the Atlantic Sea; + And all the children in the west + Are getting up and being dressed. + + + XXX + The Lamplighter + + My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky. + It's time to take the window to see Leerie going by; + For every night at teatime and before you take your seat, + With lantern and with ladder he comes posting up the street. + + Now Tom would be a driver and Maria go to sea, + And my papa's a banker and as rich as he can be; + But I, when I am stronger and can choose what I'm to do, + O Leerie, I'll go round at night and light the lamps with you! + + For we are very lucky, with a lamp before the door, + And Leerie stops to light it as he lights so many more; + And oh! before you hurry by with ladder and with light; + O Leerie, see a little child and nod to him to-night! + + + XXXI + My Bed is a Boat + + My bed is like a little boat; + Nurse helps me in when I embark; + She girds me in my sailor's coat + And starts me in the dark. + + At night I go on board and say + Good-night to all my friends on shore; + I shut my eyes and sail away + And see and hear no more. + + And sometimes things to bed I take, + As prudent sailors have to do; + Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake, + Perhaps a toy or two. + + All night across the dark we steer; + But when the day returns at last, + Safe in my room beside the pier, + I find my vessel fast. + + + XXXII + The Moon + + The moon has a face like the clock in the hall; + She shines on thieves on the garden wall, + On streets and fields and harbour quays, + And birdies asleep in the forks of the trees. + + The squalling cat and the squeaking mouse, + The howling dog by the door of the house, + The bat that lies in bed at noon, + All love to be out by the light of the moon. + + But all of the things that belong to the day + Cuddle to sleep to be out of her way; + And flowers and children close their eyes + Till up in the morning the sun shall arise. + + + XXXIII + The Swing + + How do you like to go up in a swing, + Up in the air so blue? + Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing + Ever a child can do! + + Up in the air and over the wall, + Till I can see so wide, + River and trees and cattle and all + Over the countryside-- + + Till I look down on the garden green, + Down on the roof so brown-- + Up in the air I go flying again, + Up in the air and down! + + + XXXIV + Time to Rise + + A birdie with a yellow bill + Hopped upon my window sill, + Cocked his shining eye and said: + "Ain't you 'shamed, you sleepy-head!" + + + XXXV + Looking-Glass River + + Smooth it glides upon its travel, + Here a wimple, there a gleam-- + O the clean gravel! + O the smooth stream! + + Sailing blossoms, silver fishes, + Paven pools as clear as air-- + How a child wishes + To live down there! + + We can see our colored faces + Floating on the shaken pool + Down in cool places, + Dim and very cool; + + Till a wind or water wrinkle, + Dipping marten, plumping trout, + Spreads in a twinkle + And blots all out. + + See the rings pursue each other; + All below grows black as night, + Just as if mother + Had blown out the light! + + Patience, children, just a minute-- + See the spreading circles die; + The stream and all in it + Will clear by-and-by. + + + XXXVI + Fairy Bread + + Come up here, O dusty feet! + Here is fairy bread to eat. + Here in my retiring room, + Children, you may dine + On the golden smell of broom + And the shade of pine; + And when you have eaten well, + Fairy stories hear and tell. + + + XXXVII + From a Railway Carriage + + Faster than fairies, faster than witches, + Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches; + And charging along like troops in a battle + All through the meadows the horses and cattle: + All of the sights of the hill and the plain + Fly as thick as driving rain; + And ever again, in the wink of an eye, + Painted stations whistle by. + + Here is a child who clambers and scrambles, + All by himself and gathering brambles; + Here is a tramp who stands and gazes; + And here is the green for stringing the daisies! + Here is a cart run away in the road + Lumping along with man and load; + And here is a mill, and there is a river: + Each a glimpse and gone forever! + + XXXVIII + Winter-Time + + Late lies the wintry sun a-bed, + A frosty, fiery sleepy-head; + Blinks but an hour or two; and then, + A blood-red orange, sets again. + + Before the stars have left the skies, + At morning in the dark I rise; + And shivering in my nakedness, + By the cold candle, bathe and dress. + + Close by the jolly fire I sit + To warm my frozen bones a bit; + Or with a reindeer-sled, explore + The colder countries round the door. + + When to go out, my nurse doth wrap + Me in my comforter and cap; + The cold wind burns my face, and blows + Its frosty pepper up my nose. + + Black are my steps on silver sod; + Thick blows my frosty breath abroad; + And tree and house, and hill and lake, + Are frosted like a wedding cake. + + + XXXIX + The Hayloft + + Through all the pleasant meadow-side + The grass grew shoulder-high, + Till the shining scythes went far and wide + And cut it down to dry. + + Those green and sweetly smelling crops + They led in waggons home; + And they piled them here in mountain tops + For mountaineers to roam. + + Here is Mount Clear, Mount Rusty-Nail, + Mount Eagle and Mount High;-- + The mice that in these mountains dwell, + No happier are than I! + + Oh, what a joy to clamber there, + Oh, what a place for play, + With the sweet, the dim, the dusty air, + The happy hills of hay! + + + XL + Farewell to the Farm + + The coach is at the door at last; + The eager children, mounting fast + And kissing hands, in chorus sing: + Good-bye, good-bye, to everything! + + To house and garden, field and lawn, + The meadow-gates we swang upon, + To pump and stable, tree and swing, + Good-bye, good-bye, to everything! + + And fare you well for evermore, + O ladder at the hayloft door, + O hayloft where the cobwebs cling, + Good-bye, good-bye, to everything! + + Crack goes the whip, and off we go; + The trees and houses smaller grow; + Last, round the woody turn we sing: + Good-bye, good-bye, to everything! + + + XLI + North-West Passage + + 1. Good-Night + + When the bright lamp is carried in, + The sunless hours again begin; + O'er all without, in field and lane, + The haunted night returns again. + + Now we behold the embers flee + About the firelit hearth; and see + Our faces painted as we pass, + Like pictures, on the window glass. + + Must we to bed indeed? Well then, + Let us arise and go like men, + And face with an undaunted tread + The long black passage up to bed. + + Farewell, O brother, sister, sire! + O pleasant party round the fire! + The songs you sing, the tales you tell, + Till far to-morrow, fare you well! + + + 2. Shadow March + + All around the house is the jet-black night; + It stares through the window-pane; + It crawls in the corners, hiding from the light, + And it moves with the moving flame. + + Now my little heart goes a beating like a drum, + With the breath of the Bogies in my hair; + And all around the candle the crooked shadows come, + And go marching along up the stair. + + The shadow of the balusters, the shadow of the lamp, + The shadow of the child that goes to bed-- + All the wicked shadows coming tramp, tramp, tramp, + With the black night overhead. + + + 3. In Port + + Last, to the chamber where I lie + My fearful footsteps patter nigh, + And come out from the cold and gloom + Into my warm and cheerful room. + + There, safe arrived, we turn about + To keep the coming shadows out, + And close the happy door at last + On all the perils that we past. + + Then, when mamma goes by to bed, + She shall come in with tip-toe tread, + And see me lying warm and fast + And in the land of Nod at last. + + + + + THE CHILD ALONE + + + I + The Unseen Playmate + + When children are playing alone on the green, + In comes the playmate that never was seen. + When children are happy and lonely and good, + The Friend of the Children comes out of the wood. + + Nobody heard him, and nobody saw, + His is a picture you never could draw, + But he's sure to be present, abroad or at home, + When children are happy and playing alone. + + He lies in the laurels, he runs on the grass, + He sings when you tinkle the musical glass; + Whene'er you are happy and cannot tell why, + The Friend of the Children is sure to be by! + + He loves to be little, he hates to be big, + 'Tis he that inhabits the caves that you dig; + 'Tis he when you play with your soldiers of tin + That sides with the Frenchmen and never can win. + + 'Tis he, when at night you go off to your bed, + Bids you go to sleep and not trouble your head; + For wherever they're lying, in cupboard or shelf, + 'Tis he will take care of your playthings himself! + + + II + My Ship and I + + O it's I that am the captain of a tidy little ship, + Of a ship that goes a sailing on the pond; + And my ship it keeps a-turning all around and all about; + But when I'm a little older, I shall find the secret out + How to send my vessel sailing on beyond. + + For I mean to grow as little as the dolly at the helm, + And the dolly I intend to come alive; + And with him beside to help me, it's a-sailing I shall go, + It's a-sailing on the water, when the jolly breezes blow + And the vessel goes a divie-divie-dive. + + O it's then you'll see me sailing through the rushes and the reeds, + And you'll hear the water singing at the prow; + For beside the dolly sailor, I'm to voyage and explore, + To land upon the island where no dolly was before, + And to fire the penny cannon in the bow. + + + III + My Kingdom + + Down by a shining water well + I found a very little dell, + No higher than my head. + The heather and the gorse about + In summer bloom were coming out, + Some yellow and some red. + + I called the little pool a sea; + The little hills were big to me; + For I am very small. + I made a boat, I made a town, + I searched the caverns up and down, + And named them one and all. + + And all about was mine, I said, + The little sparrows overhead, + The little minnows too. + This was the world and I was king; + For me the bees came by to sing, + For me the swallows flew. + + I played there were no deeper seas, + Nor any wider plains than these, + Nor other kings than me. + At last I heard my mother call + Out from the house at evenfall, + To call me home to tea. + + And I must rise and leave my dell, + And leave my dimpled water well, + And leave my heather blooms. + Alas! and as my home I neared, + How very big my nurse appeared. + How great and cool the rooms! + + + IV + Picture-Books in Winter + + Summer fading, winter comes-- + Frosty mornings, tingling thumbs, + Window robins, winter rooks, + And the picture story-books. + + Water now is turned to stone + Nurse and I can walk upon; + Still we find the flowing brooks + In the picture story-books. + + All the pretty things put by, + Wait upon the children's eye, + Sheep and shepherds, trees and crooks, + In the picture story-books. + + We may see how all things are + Seas and cities, near and far, + And the flying fairies' looks, + In the picture story-books. + + How am I to sing your praise, + Happy chimney-corner days, + Sitting safe in nursery nooks, + Reading picture story-books? + + + V + My Treasures + + These nuts, that I keep in the back of the nest, + Where all my tin soldiers are lying at rest, + Were gathered in Autumn by nursie and me + In a wood with a well by the side of the sea. + + This whistle we made (and how clearly it sounds!) + By the side of a field at the end of the grounds. + Of a branch of a plane, with a knife of my own, + It was nursie who made it, and nursie alone! + + The stone, with the white and the yellow and grey, + We discovered I cannot tell HOW far away; + And I carried it back although weary and cold, + For though father denies it, I'm sure it is gold. + + But of all my treasures the last is the king, + For there's very few children possess such a thing; + And that is a chisel, both handle and blade, + Which a man who was really a carpenter made. + + + VI + Block City + + What are you able to build with your blocks? + Castles and palaces, temples and docks. + Rain may keep raining, and others go roam, + But I can be happy and building at home. + + Let the sofa be mountains, the carpet be sea, + There I'll establish a city for me: + A kirk and a mill and a palace beside, + And a harbour as well where my vessels may ride. + + Great is the palace with pillar and wall, + A sort of a tower on the top of it all, + And steps coming down in an orderly way + To where my toy vessels lie safe in the bay. + + This one is sailing and that one is moored: + Hark to the song of the sailors aboard! + And see, on the steps of my palace, the kings + Coming and going with presents and things! + + Now I have done with it, down let it go! + All in a moment the town is laid low. + Block upon block lying scattered and free, + What is there left of my town by the sea? + + Yet as I saw it, I see it again, + The kirk and the palace, the ships and the men, + And as long as I live and where'er I may be, + I'll always remember my town by the sea. + + + VII + The Land of Story-Books + + At evening when the lamp is lit, + Around the fire my parents sit; + They sit at home and talk and sing, + And do not play at anything. + + Now, with my little gun, I crawl + All in the dark along the wall, + And follow round the forest track + Away behind the sofa back. + + There, in the night, where none can spy, + All in my hunter's camp I lie, + And play at books that I have read + Till it is time to go to bed. + + These are the hills, these are the woods, + These are my starry solitudes; + And there the river by whose brink + The roaring lions come to drink. + + I see the others far away + As if in firelit camp they lay, + And I, like to an Indian scout, + Around their party prowled about. + + So when my nurse comes in for me, + Home I return across the sea, + And go to bed with backward looks + At my dear land of Story-books. + + + VIII + Armies in the Fire + + The lamps now glitter down the street; + Faintly sound the falling feet; + And the blue even slowly falls + About the garden trees and walls. + + Now in the falling of the gloom + The red fire paints the empty room: + And warmly on the roof it looks, + And flickers on the back of books. + + Armies march by tower and spire + Of cities blazing, in the fire;-- + Till as I gaze with staring eyes, + The armies fade, the lustre dies. + + Then once again the glow returns; + Again the phantom city burns; + And down the red-hot valley, lo! + The phantom armies marching go! + + Blinking embers, tell me true + Where are those armies marching to, + And what the burning city is + That crumbles in your furnaces! + + + IX + The Little Land + + When at home alone I sit + And am very tired of it, + I have just to shut my eyes + To go sailing through the skies-- + To go sailing far away + To the pleasant Land of Play; + To the fairy land afar + Where the Little People are; + Where the clover-tops are trees, + And the rain-pools are the seas, + And the leaves, like little ships, + Sail about on tiny trips; + And above the Daisy tree + Through the grasses, + High o'erhead the Bumble Bee + Hums and passes. + + In that forest to and fro + I can wander, I can go; + See the spider and the fly, + And the ants go marching by, + Carrying parcels with their feet + Down the green and grassy street. + I can in the sorrel sit + Where the ladybird alit. + I can climb the jointed grass + And on high + See the greater swallows pass + In the sky, + And the round sun rolling by + Heeding no such things as I. + + Through that forest I can pass + Till, as in a looking-glass, + Humming fly and daisy tree + And my tiny self I see, + Painted very clear and neat + On the rain-pool at my feet. + Should a leaflet come to land + Drifting near to where I stand, + Straight I'll board that tiny boat + Round the rain-pool sea to float. + + Little thoughtful creatures sit + On the grassy coasts of it; + Little things with lovely eyes + See me sailing with surprise. + Some are clad in armour green-- + (These have sure to battle been!)-- + Some are pied with ev'ry hue, + Black and crimson, gold and blue; + Some have wings and swift are gone;-- + But they all look kindly on. + + When my eyes I once again + Open, and see all things plain: + High bare walls, great bare floor; + Great big knobs on drawer and door; + Great big people perched on chairs, + Stitching tucks and mending tears, + Each a hill that I could climb, + And talking nonsense all the time-- + O dear me, + That I could be + A sailor on a the rain-pool sea, + A climber in the clover tree, + And just come back a sleepy-head, + Late at night to go to bed. + + + + + Garden Days + + + I + Night and Day + + When the golden day is done, + Through the closing portal, + Child and garden, flower and sun, + Vanish all things mortal. + + As the building shadows fall + As the rays diminish, + Under evening's cloak they all + Roll away and vanish. + + Garden darkened, daisy shut, + Child in bed, they slumber-- + Glow-worm in the hallway rut, + Mice among the lumber. + + In the darkness houses shine, + Parents move the candles; + Till on all the night divine + Turns the bedroom handles. + + Till at last the day begins + In the east a-breaking, + In the hedges and the whins + Sleeping birds a-waking. + + In the darkness shapes of things, + Houses, trees and hedges, + Clearer grow; and sparrow's wings + Beat on window ledges. + + These shall wake the yawning maid; + She the door shall open-- + Finding dew on garden glade + And the morning broken. + + There my garden grows again + Green and rosy painted, + As at eve behind the pane + From my eyes it fainted. + + Just as it was shut away, + Toy-like, in the even, + Here I see it glow with day + Under glowing heaven. + + Every path and every plot, + Every blush of roses, + Every blue forget-me-not + Where the dew reposes, + + "Up!" they cry, "the day is come + On the smiling valleys: + We have beat the morning drum; + Playmate, join your allies!" + + + II + Nest Eggs + + Birds all the sunny day + Flutter and quarrel + Here in the arbour-like + Tent of the laurel. + + Here in the fork + The brown nest is seated; + Four little blue eggs + The mother keeps heated. + + While we stand watching her + Staring like gabies, + Safe in each egg are the + Bird's little babies. + + Soon the frail eggs they shall + Chip, and upspringing + Make all the April woods + Merry with singing. + + Younger than we are, + O children, and frailer, + Soon in the blue air they'll be, + Singer and sailor. + + We, so much older, + Taller and stronger, + We shall look down on the + Birdies no longer. + + They shall go flying + With musical speeches + High overhead in the + Tops of the beeches. + + In spite of our wisdom + And sensible talking, + We on our feet must go + Plodding and walking. + + III + The Flowers + + All the names I know from nurse: + Gardener's garters, Shepherd's purse, + Bachelor's buttons, Lady's smock, + And the Lady Hollyhock. + + Fairy places, fairy things, + Fairy woods where the wild bee wings, + Tiny trees for tiny dames-- + These must all be fairy names! + + Tiny woods below whose boughs + Shady fairies weave a house; + Tiny tree-tops, rose or thyme, + Where the braver fairies climb! + + Fair are grown-up people's trees, + But the fairest woods are these; + Where, if I were not so tall, + I should live for good and all. + + + IV + Summer Sun + + Great is the sun, and wide he goes + Through empty heaven with repose; + And in the blue and glowing days + More thick than rain he showers his rays. + + Though closer still the blinds we pull + To keep the shady parlour cool, + Yet he will find a chink or two + To slip his golden fingers through. + + The dusty attic spider-clad + He, through the keyhole, maketh glad; + And through the broken edge of tiles + Into the laddered hay-loft smiles. + + Meantime his golden face around + He bares to all the garden ground, + And sheds a warm and glittering look + Among the ivy's inmost nook. + + Above the hills, along the blue, + Round the bright air with footing true, + To please the child, to paint the rose, + The gardener of the World, he goes. + + + V + The Dumb Soldier + When the grass was closely mown, + Walking on the lawn alone, + In the turf a hole I found, + And hid a soldier underground. + + Spring and daisies came apace; + Grasses hide my hiding place; + Grasses run like a green sea + O'er the lawn up to my knee. + + Under grass alone he lies, + Looking up with leaden eyes, + Scarlet coat and pointed gun, + To the stars and to the sun. + + When the grass is ripe like grain, + When the scythe is stoned again, + When the lawn is shaven clear, + Then my hole shall reappear. + + I shall find him, never fear, + I shall find my grenadier; + But for all that's gone and come, + I shall find my soldier dumb. + + He has lived, a little thing, + In the grassy woods of spring; + Done, if he could tell me true, + Just as I should like to do. + + He has seen the starry hours + And the springing of the flowers; + And the fairy things that pass + In the forests of the grass. + + In the silence he has heard + Talking bee and ladybird, + And the butterfly has flown + O'er him as he lay alone. + + Not a word will he disclose, + Not a word of all he knows. + I must lay him on the shelf, + And make up the tale myself. + + + VI + Autumn Fires + + In the other gardens + And all up the vale, + From the autumn bonfires + See the smoke trail! + + Pleasant summer over + And all the summer flowers, + The red fire blazes, + The grey smoke towers. + + Sing a song of seasons! + Something bright in all! + Flowers in the summer, + Fires in the fall! + + + VII + The Gardener + + The gardener does not love to talk. + He makes me keep the gravel walk; + And when he puts his tools away, + He locks the door and takes the key. + + Away behind the currant row, + Where no one else but cook may go, + Far in the plots, I see him dig, + Old and serious, brown and big. + + He digs the flowers, green, red, and blue, + Nor wishes to be spoken to. + He digs the flowers and cuts the hay, + And never seems to want to play. + + Silly gardener! summer goes, + And winter comes with pinching toes, + When in the garden bare and brown + You must lay your barrow down. + + Well now, and while the summer stays, + To profit by these garden days + O how much wiser you would be + To play at Indian wars with me! + + + VIII + Historical Associations + + Dear Uncle Jim, this garden ground + That now you smoke your pipe around, + Has seen immortal actions done + And valiant battles lost and won. + + Here we had best on tip-toe tread, + While I for safety march ahead, + For this is that enchanted ground + Where all who loiter slumber sound. + + Here is the sea, here is the sand, + Here is simple Shepherd's Land, + Here are the fairy hollyhocks, + And there are Ali Baba's rocks. + + But yonder, see! apart and high, + Frozen Siberia lies; where I, + With Robert Bruce and William Tell, + Was bound by an enchanter's spell. + + + + + ENVOYS + + + I + To Willie and Henrietta + + If two may read aright + These rhymes of old delight + And house and garden play, + You two, my cousins, and you only, may. + + You in a garden green + With me were king and queen, + Were hunter, soldier, tar, + And all the thousand things that children are. + + Now in the elders' seat + We rest with quiet feet, + And from the window-bay + We watch the children, our successors, play. + + "Time was," the golden head + Irrevocably said; + But time which one can bind, + While flowing fast away, leaves love behind. + + + II + To My Mother + + You too, my mother, read my rhymes + For love of unforgotten times, + And you may chance to hear once more + The little feet along the floor. + + + III + To Auntie + + "Chief of our aunts"--not only I, + But all your dozen of nurselings cry-- + "What did the other children do? + And what were childhood, wanting you?" + + + IV + To Minnie + The red room with the giant bed + Where none but elders laid their head; + The little room where you and I + Did for awhile together lie + And, simple suitor, I your hand + In decent marriage did demand; + The great day nursery, best of all, + With pictures pasted on the wall + And leaves upon the blind-- + A pleasant room wherein to wake + And hear the leafy garden shake + And rustle in the wind-- + And pleasant there to lie in bed + And see the pictures overhead-- + The wars about Sebastopol, + The grinning guns along the wall, + The daring escalade, + The plunging ships, the bleating sheep, + The happy children ankle-deep + And laughing as they wade: + All these are vanished clean away, + And the old manse is changed to-day; + It wears an altered face + And shields a stranger race. + The river, on from mill to mill, + Flows past our childhood's garden still; + But ah! we children never more + Shall watch it from the water-door! + Below the yew--it still is there-- + Our phantom voices haunt the air + As we were still at play, + And I can hear them call and say: + "How far is it to Babylon?" + + Ah, far enough, my dear, + Far, far enough from here-- + Yet you have farther gone! + "Can I get there by candlelight?" + So goes the old refrain. + I do not know--perchance you might-- + But only, children, hear it right, + Ah, never to return again! + The eternal dawn, beyond a doubt, + Shall break on hill and plain, + And put all stars and candles out + Ere we be young again. + + To you in distant India, these + I send across the seas, + Nor count it far across. + For which of us forgets + The Indian cabinets, + The bones of antelope, the wings of albatross, + The pied and painted birds and beans, + The junks and bangles, beads and screens, + The gods and sacred bells, + And the loud-humming, twisted shells! + The level of the parlour floor + Was honest, homely, Scottish shore; + But when we climbed upon a chair, + Behold the gorgeous East was there! + Be this a fable; and behold + Me in the parlour as of old, + And Minnie just above me set + In the quaint Indian cabinet! + Smiling and kind, you grace a shelf + Too high for me to reach myself. + Reach down a hand, my dear, and take + These rhymes for old acquaintance' sake! + + + + V + To My Name-Child + + 1 + + Some day soon this rhyming volume, if you learn with proper speed, + Little Louis Sanchez, will be given you to read. + Then you shall discover, that your name was printed down + By the English printers, long before, in London town. + + In the great and busy city where the East and West are met, + All the little letters did the English printer set; + While you thought of nothing, and were still too young to play, + Foreign people thought of you in places far away. + + Ay, and when you slept, a baby, over all the English lands + Other little children took the volume in their hands; + Other children questioned, in their homes across the seas: + Who was little Louis, won't you tell us, mother, please? + + + 2 + + Now that you have spelt your lesson, lay it down and go and play, + Seeking shells and seaweed on the sands of Monterey, + Watching all the mighty whalebones, lying buried by the breeze, + Tiny sandy-pipers, and the huge Pacific seas. + + And remember in your playing, as the sea-fog rolls to you, + Long ere you could read it, how I told you what to do; + And that while you thought of no one, nearly half the world away + Some one thought of Louis on the beach of Monterey! + + + VI + To Any Reader + + As from the house your mother sees + You playing round the garden trees, + So you may see, if you will look + Through the windows of this book, + Another child, far, far away, + And in another garden, play. + But do not think you can at all, + By knocking on the window, call + That child to hear you. He intent + Is all on his play-business bent. + He does not hear, he will not look, + Nor yet be lured out of this book. + For, long ago, the truth to say, + He has grown up and gone away, + And it is but a child of air + That lingers in the garden there. + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A Child's Garden of Verses, by +Robert Louis Stevenson + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 136 *** |