THE NIGHT RAMBLE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2389, 14 December 1899, Page 61

THE NIGHT RAMBLE.

Now swart Night o'er hill trad dale Slowly dra%vs her dusky veil, "While, aloft, her tapers bright/ Mark her way* with sparks of light; Through the woods and • o'er the plai» Follow thou her silver train. * One by one her dewy gems H»ngs she on the slender stems Of the 1 , ferns that gently sway • To the lull'd winds , amorous play—* On .the fluttering forest leaves, Emerald grass, and ""golden sheaves Of the newly r reaped corn, That the teeming 1 fields adorn ; " Everywhere ■• these jewels "frail <■ Scatters she-o'er hill and "dale. By the cfrear and lonely brook, Where the ploughboy dreads to lookil For 'tis said that,' long a-o, .Murder stained its sullen flow— Thou rnay'st linger, till thine ears, Haunted by dim, ghctily fears, List again the piercing cry Of a mortal agony; Mark the blow, and hear the fall, And they last despairing call Echoed far, and", what is worse, Blended with the murderer's curse}. Thou,- when past this scene of woe, ; Up the lawny gls'de shalt go, "Where beneath green, treilised branched Dian. silver arrows launches," „ . I * Fast as she can draw the bow, ' .At .a flying milk-white doe. . That with panting side' 3 doth press' " ' ! Through the mazy" wilderness. Or, with clear, poetic sight, . ' Thou might' st by the dubious vlighi „, See the velvet mole that peeps From his cave, or snake that creeps Tim'rous by the primrose tuft. Listen! 'tis the ditty soft Of the gnats whose busy hum Lulls the rmgckve' in her jiome, ' ' Perched upon a breezy bough, Rocked' by all the winds that blow; ' While, beneath, the leaves and' flower b, - Like a band of paramoxira, Kiss and dance away the hours. Listen still, and thou may'st catch Notes so fine there's none to match;' \ Tiny strains of melody Piped beneath a fairy tree Scarce an inch above the ground! Now thou'rt startled! What, hast . fouqrU Here are. folk that dance and sing Hound and round a wedding ring, Sad-eyea lover, musing by, Dropt, and never more could spy. O ye happy;_dainty elves, Fancy's picture of ourselves . Ere, the sin of Eden brought' ,•.-- - • Death, that darkens every thought I . Ever young and free, from sorrow, Dreadless of ihe vague to-morrow; Dowered with primal health and gr&ci», .Music clothes your gentla faces! Some are chatting, eoiucafe singing," Some .from bloomy spray are ' swinging. ; 'Some the frolic ball are fringing;' * " * ! . Some, in loyeta'- drearnings lost ' • • - (Love, whose dreams ar6 never crest); ** ' Couch'd on mo3B, Qo kiss and toy, , J 'Clasp, and- take-their fill of f joy-." ' * , : Thus/ in sports- ainid the'-grass;-- '•--*■. : - < • 'Swift- their midnight, hour "'ttoth pas? L ■ '• When a sprite" alarum 1 aouh'ds t ' "* ' *» .' ; From a harebell's fragile, rouads, , /;i „< And the band confusedly" 'fleo ■ • - " • : To their "home in hollow tree. • . Now the night cloud, stooping low From the mountain's lowering brow. Folds tjice in a mantle gray, Woven of mists,^ and steals away Form and kjio from Nature's fate, Till thp baffled eye can trace . Nought but faint forms, dim and bare, Brooding in the stagnant air, While the mind so shut within Conjures forth, .with ghostly din, Sounds that thrill the forest quiet ' With a wild, unearthly riot! Battle cries and shrieks of pain, Seems the murky sky to rain; Boar of cannon, clash of- arms, Trumpets bldwn in wild alarms; Harsh, the dreadful tongues of wa* Shout their fierce defiance far! Then, thine eye enchanted too, All unwillingly doth review Grim battalions of the dead Hurrying past with muffled tread: Hosts with phantom banners^lying, Swords and lances ruthless plying, Cowardly carnage, deeds of daring, Dead white faces skyward staring,— While a cloud of b!ood-red fire Canopies a ruin dire. Lo! the morning softly slides The veii from Fancy's dreamy lids— ; Homeward -now in mood • Thread the- tangled underwood. — H. J. B. • December, 1899. -

— When one is If ing down the heart makes »bout 10 strokes less a minute than when cue is upright.