PICTURES, FANCIES, AND MEMORIES. THE PIPER. PIPING down the valleys wild, And he, laughing, said to me, "Pipe a song about a lamb !" "Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe; Sing thy songs of happy cheer !" While he wept with joy to hear. "Piper, sit thou down, and write And I plucked a hollow reed, And I made a rural pen, And I stained the water clear; Every child may joy to hear. William Blake. SONG OF THE ELFIN MILLER. FULL merrily rings the millstone round, So the meal comes in a shower; The miller he's a worldly man, So draw the sluice of the churl's dam, One elf goes chasing the wild bat's wing One hunts the fox for the white o' his tail, O haste, my brown elf, bring me corn From Bonnie Blackwood plains; Go, gentle fairy, bring me grain From green Dalgona mains ; But, pride of a' at Closeburn ha', Fair is the corn and fatter; Hilloah! my hopper is heaped high; It clatters and it reels. Haste, elves, and turn yon mountain burn — ; Bring streams that shine like siller Ha bravely done, my wanton elves, See how the dust from the mill flies, And meet me soon, ere sinks the moon, -Allan Cuningham. THE FAIRY FOLK. Up the airy mountain, We dare n't go a-hunting For fear of little men; Trooping all together; Green jacket, red cap, And white owl's feather! |