REGARDING A RELIC.

Otago Witness, Issue 2921, 9 March 1910, Page 70

REGARDING A RELIC.

Once it lay in a lady's hand, Unfashioned. no charm to show; A thing of weed in Scotia's land— Is it holly cr mistletoe? . .. . i Now it lies in a gracious state I At home among treasures rare — Won from a bough that knew not fate i Would shape it to form so fair. Nor guess'd that here in this carven bowl.. This dainty and springing line, A woman's skill and a woman's soul Should each impress its sign. . . . Carven where? Was it now and then ! In the spell of an afternoon, In hut or castle, in '" but" or " ben," ■ That 'twas fashioned, this ancient spoon? In the dying light, by the flaming hearth, i To the spinners' humming croon—f Or just by the side of a woodland path j On the border of Brechin toun? . . . Perchance it was shaped to belittle woes, Moulded 'twixt tryst and tears, Or merrily cut and ( carved—who knows?— Its tale of two hundred years. Has it relieved in camp cr hall, At Pitv's banquet spread With food or unction?—for kins or thrall The dying with comfort sped? . . . Relic of ancestry chaste and pure, Artistry keen and quaint Of maid or dowager. I'm full sure 'Twas the work of a woman saint. H«r« by the quoich then let it rest, While time its secret holds, With haunting thought of many a guest Long passed to quiet folds—i While still we pass the loving cup, i And toast the wooden spoon That strengthens anguish with a sup Of comfort—from abune. j —Joyce Jocelyw. Ashburton, January, 1910. I * Carved bv the Lady Jane Lindsay two hundred years ago.