SONGS FROM BOOKS The Project Gutenberg eBook of Songs from Books This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org . If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title : Songs from Books Author : Rudyard Kipling Release date : April 3, 2005 [eBook #15529] Most recently updated: December 14, 2020 Language : English Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15529 Credits : Produced by Paul Murray, S.R. Ellison and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SONGS FROM BOOKS *** Produced by Paul Murray, S.R. Ellison and the PG Online Distributed Proofreading Team. SONGS FROM BOOKS BY RUDYARD KIPLING MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED ST. MARTIN'S STREET, LONDON 1914 COPYRIGHT All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian First Edition October 1913 Reprinted October (twice), November 1913, 1914 PREFACE I have collected in this volume practically all the verses and chapter-headings scattered through my books. In several cases where only a few lines of verse were originally used, I have given in full the song, etc., from which they were taken. RUDYARD KIPLING. ' CITIES AND THRONES AND POWERS ' _Cities and Thrones and Powers, Stand in Time's eye, Almost as long as flowers, Which daily die. But, as new buds put forth To glad new men, Out of the spent and unconsidered Earth, The Cities rise again. This season's Daffodil, She never hears, What change, what chance, what chill, Cut down last year's: But with bold countenance, And knowledge small, Esteems her seven days' continuance To be perpetual. So Time that is o'er-kind, To all that be, Ordains us e'en as blind, As bold as she: That in our very death, And burial sure, Shadow to shadow, well persuaded, saith, 'See how our works endure!'_ CONTENTS SONG BOOK PAGE Angutivaun Taina Second Jungle Book 292 Astrologer's Song, An Rewards and Fairies 164 Ballad of Minepit Shaw, The Rewards and Fairies 266 Bee Boy's Song, The Puck of Pook's Hill 172 Bees and the Flies, The Actions and Reactions 89 Blue Roses Light that Failed 225 British-Roman Song, A Puck 96 Brookland Road Rewards and Fairies 10 Butterflies Traffics and Discoveries 228 'By the Hoof of the Wild Goat' Plain Tales 217 Captive, The Traffics and Discoveries 71 Carol, A Rewards and Fairies 41 Chapter Headings Beast and Man, etc. 132 " " Jungle Books 245 " " Just-So Stories 182 " " Naulahka, Light that Failed 78 " " Plain Tales 30 Charm, A Rewards and Fairies 26 Children's Song, The Puck 143 Chil's Song Second Jungle Book 69 'Cities and Thrones and Powers' Puck vii City of Sleep, The The Day's Work 198 Cold Iron Rewards and Fairies 36 Cuckoo Song Heathfield Parish Memoirs 24 Darzee's Chaunt Jungle Book 299 Dedication, A Soldiers Three 235 Eddi's Service Rewards and Fairies 45 Egg-shell, The Traffics and Discoveries 254 Fairies' Siege, The Kim 50 Four Angels, The Actions and Reactions 301 Frankie's Trade Rewards and Fairies 285 Gallio's Song Actions and Reactions 86 Gow's Watch Kim 206 Hadramauti Plain Tales 75 Harp Song of the Dane Women Puck 60 Heriot's Ford Light that Failed 283 Heritage, The The Empire and the Century 130 Hunting Song of the Seeonee Pack Jungle Book 294 If— Rewards and Fairies 149 Jester, The Collected 156 Jubal and Tubal Cain Letters to the Family 112 Juggler's Song, The Naulahka 288 Kingdom, The Naulahka 15 King Henry VII. and the Shipwrights Rewards and Fairies 272 King's Task, The Traffics and Discoveries 256 Law of the Jungle, The Second Jungle Book 120 Looking-Glass, The Rewards and Fairies 193 Love Song of Har Dyal, The Plain Tales 234 'Lukannon' Jungle Book 161 Merrow Down Just-So Stories 176 Morning Song in the Jungle Second Jungle Book 223 Mother o' Mine Light that Failed 237 Mowgli's Song against People Second Jungle Book 241 My Lady's Law Naulahka 230 'My New-Cut Ashlar' Life's Handicap 43 Necessitarian, The Traffics and Discoveries 154 New Knighthood, The Actions and Reactions 54 Nursing Sister, The Naulahka 232 Old Mother Laidinwool Puck 179 Only Son, The Many Inventions 238 'Our Fathers also' Traffics and Discoveries 94 'Our Fathers of Old' Rewards and Fairies 127 Outsong in the Jungle Second Jungle Book 56 Parade Song of the Camp Animals Jungle Book 145 Pict Song, A Puck 98 'Poor Honest Men' Rewards and Fairies 105 Poseidon's Law Traffics and Discoveries 263 'Power of the Dog, The' Actions and Reactions 168 Prairie, The Letters to the Family 28 Prayer, The Kim 303 Prayer of Miriam Cohen, The Many Inventions 202 Prodigal Son, The Kim 151 Prophets at Home Puck 111 Pock's Song Puck 3 Puzzler, The Actions and Reactions 73 Queen's Men, The Rewards and Fairies 196 Rabbi's Song, The Actions and Reactions 170 Recall, The Actions and Reactions 1 Return of the Children, The Traffics and Discoveries 174 'Rimini' Puck 102 Ripple Song, A Second Jungle Book 226 Road Song of the Bandar - Log Jungle Book 92 Romulus and Remus Letters to the Family 243 Run of the Downs, The Rewards and Fairies 9 Sack of the Gods, The Naulahka 12 School Song, A Stalky & Co. 116 'Servant When He Reigneth, A' Letters to the Family 124 Shiv and the Grasshopper Jungle Book 48 Sir Richard's Song Puck 19 Smuggler's Song, A Puck 269 Song of Kabir, A Second Jungle Book 39 Song of the Fifth River Puck 140 Song of the Little Hunter Second Jungle Book 204 Song of the Men's Side Rewards and Fairies 296 Song of the Red War-Boat Rewards and Fairies 219 Song of Travel, A Letters to the Family 157 Song to Mithras, A Puck 52 St. Helena Lullaby, A Rewards and Fairies 66 Stranger, The Letters to the Family 100 Tarrant Moss Plain Tales 17 Thorkild's Song Puck 290 Thousandth Man, The Rewards and Fairies 62 Three-Part Song, A Puck 8 Tree Song, A Puck 21 Truthful Song, A Rewards and Fairies 266 Two-Sided Man, The Kim 159 Voortrekker, The Collected 114 Way through the Woods, The Rewards and Fairies 6 Wet Litany, The Traffics and Discoveries 277 'When the Great Ark' Letters to the Family 109 Widower, The Various 200 Winners, The Story of the Gadsbys 64 Wishing Caps, The Kim 215 INDEX TO FIRST LINES PAGE About the time that taverns shut, 279 A farmer of the Augustan Age, 89 After the sack of the City, when Rome was sunk to a name, 256 All day long to the judgment-seat, 86 All the world over, nursing their scars, 138 Alone upon the housetops to the North, 234 And if ye doubt the tale I tell, 136 'And some are sulky, while some will plunge', 32 And they were stronger hands than mine, 235 As Adam lay a-dreaming beneath the Apple Tree, 301 As the dawn was breaking the Sambhur belled, 294 A stone's throw out on either hand, 34 At the hole where he went in, 249 Beat off in our last fight were we?, 79 Because I sought it far from men, 80 Bees! Bees! Hark to your bees!, 172 Before my spring I garnered autumn's gain, 135 Between the waving tufts of jungle-grass, 133 By the Hoof of the Wild Goat uptossed, 217 China-going P. and O.'s, 189 Cities and Thrones and Powers, vii Cry 'Murder' in the market-place, and each, 31 Dark children of the mere and marsh, 133 Eddi, priest of St. Wilfrid, 45 Ere Mor the Peacock flutters, ere the Monkey People cry, 204 Excellent herbs had our fathers of old, 127 Eyes aloft, over dangerous places, 228 For a season there must be pain, 200 For our white and our excellent nights—for the nights of swift running, 248 For the sake of him who showed, 56 From the wheel and the drift of Things, 202 'Gold is for the mistress—silver for the maid', 36 Go, stalk the red deer o'er the heather, 31 Harry, our King in England, from London town is gone, 272 He drank strong waters and his speech was coarse, 35 Here come I to my own again, 151 Here we go in a flung festoon, 92 His spots are the joy of the Leopard: his horns are the Buffalo's pride, 245 'How far is St. Helena from a little child at play?', 66 I am the land of their fathers, 1 I am the Most Wise Baviaan, saying in most wise tones, 184 I closed and drew for my love's sake, 17 'If I have taken the common clay', 84 If I were hanged on the highest hill, 237 I followed my Duke ere I was a lover, 19 If Thought can reach to Heaven, 170 If you can keep your head when all about you, 149 If you wake at midnight, and hear a horse's feet, 269 I have been given my charge to keep, 50 I keep six honest serving-men, 185 I know not in Whose hands are laid, 154 I met my mates in the morning (and oh, but I am old!), 161 I'm just in love with all these three, 8 In the daytime, when she moved about me, 34 'I see the grass shake in the sun for leagues on either hand', 28 I tell this tale, which is strictly true, 266 It was not in the open fight, 33 I've never sailed the Amazon, 188 I was very well pleased with what I knowed, 10 I will let loose against you the fleet-footed vines, 241 I will remember what I was, I am sick of rope and chain, 251 Jubal sang of the Wrath of God, 112 Land of our Birth, we pledge to thee, 143 'Less you want your toes trod off you'd better get back at once', 138 'Let us now praise famous men', 116 Life's all getting and giving, 215 Look, you have cast out Love! What Gods are these, 30 Man goes to Man! Cry the challenge through the Jungle!, 249 Mithras, God of the Morning, our trumpets waken the Wall!, 52 Much I owe to the Land that grew, 159 My Brother kneels, so saith Kabir, 303 My father's father saw it not, 96 My new-cut ashlar takes the light, 43 Neither the harps nor the crowns amused, nor the cherubs' dove-winged races, 174 Not though you die to-night, O Sweet, and wail, 32 Not with an outcry to Allah nor any complaining, 71 Now Chil the Kite brings home the night, 245 Now it is not good for the Christian's health to hustle the Aryan brown, 79 Now this is the Law of the Jungle—as old and as true as the sky, 120 Now we are come to our Kingdom, 15 Of all the trees that grow so fair, 21 Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us, 250 Oh, light was the world that he weighed in his hands!, 39 Oh, little did the Wolf-Child care, 243 Old Horn to All Atlantic said, 285 'Old Mother Laidinwool had nigh twelve months been dead', 179 Once a ripple came to land, 226 Once we feared The Beast—when he followed us we ran, 296 One man in a thousand, Solomon says, 62 One moment past our bodies cast, 223 Our Fathers in a wondrous age, 130 Our gloves are stiff with the frozen blood, 292 Our Lord Who did the Ox command, 41 Our sister sayeth such and such, 232 Over the edge of the purple down, 198 Pit where the buffalo cooled his hide, 35 Prophets have honour all over the Earth, 111 Pussy can sit by the fire and sing, 190 Queen Bess was Harry's daughter. Stand forward partners all!, 193 Ride with an idle whip, ride with an unused heel, 33 Rome never looks where she treads, 98 Roses red and roses white, 225 See you the ferny ride that steals, 3 She dropped the bar, she shot the bolt, she fed the fire anew, 238 Shiv, who poured the harvest and made the winds to blow, 48 Shove off from the wharf-edge! Steady!, 219 Singer and tailor am I, 299 So we settled it all when the storm was done, 83 'Stopped in the straight when the race was his own!', 31 Strangers drawn from the ends of the earth, jewelled and plumed were we, 12 Take of English earth as much, 26 Tell it to the locked-up trees, 24 The beasts are very wise, 143 The Camel's hump is an ugly lump, 182 The Celt in all his variants from Builth to Ballyhoo, 73 The doors were wide, the story saith, 135 The gull shall whistle in his wake, the blind wave break in fire, 114 The lark will make her hymn to God, 84 The Law whereby my lady moves, 230 The night we felt the earth would move, 253 The People of the Eastern Ice, they are melting like the snow, 252 There are three degrees of bliss, 156 There is pleasure in the wet, wet clay, 81 There is sorrow enough in the natural way, 168 There runs a road by Merrow Down, 176 There's a convict more in the Central Jail, 137 There's no wind along these seas, 290 There was a strife 'twixt man and maid, 81 There was never a Queen like Balkis, 191 There were three friends that buried the fourth, 85 These are the Four that are never content, that have never been filled since the Dews began, 248 These were my companions going forth by night, 69 The Stranger within my gate, 100 The stream is shrunk—the pool is dry, 246 The torn boughs trailing o'er the tusks aslant, 133 The Weald is good, the Downs are best, 9 The wind took off with the sunset, 254 The wolf-cub at even lay hid in the corn, 84 The World hath set its heavy yoke, 32 They burnt a corpse upon the sand, 33 They killed a child to please the Gods, 132 They shut the road through the woods, 6 This I saw when the rites were done, 79 This is the mouth-filling song of the race that was run by a Boomer, 186 Three things make earth unquiet, 124 Thrones, Powers, Dominions, Peoples, Kings, 94 To-night, God knows what thing shall tide, 34 To the Heavens above us, 164 Unto whose use the pregnant suns are poised, 136 Valour and Innocence, 196 Veil them, cover them, wall them round, 247 We be the Gods of the East, 82 We lent to Alexander the strength of Hercules, 145 We meet in an evil land, 78 What is a woman that you forsake her, 60 What is the moral? Who rides may read, 64 What of the hunting, hunter bold?, 247 'What's that that hirples at my side?', 283 When a lover hies abroad, 81 When first by Eden Tree, 140 When I left home for Lalage's sake, 102 When the cabin port-holes are dark and green, 182 When the drums begin to beat, 288 When the Earth was sick and the Skies were grey, 30 When the Great Ark, in Vigo Bay, 109 When the robust and Brass-bound Man commissioned first for sea, 263 When the water's countenance, 277 When ye say to Tabaqui, 'My Brother!' when ye call the Hyena to meat, 252 Where's the lamp that Hero lit 157 Who gives him the Bath? 54 Who knows the heart of the Christian? How does he reason? 75 Yet at the last, ere our spearmen had found him 85 You mustn't swim till you're six weeks old 250 Your jar of Virginny 105 Your tiercel's too long at hack, Sir. He's no eyass 206 THE RECALL I am the land of their fathers. In me the virtue stays. I will bring back my children, After certain days. Under their feet in the grasses My clinging magic runs. They shall return as strangers, They shall remain as sons. Over their heads in the branches Of their new-bought, ancient trees, I weave an incantation And draw them to my knees. Scent of smoke in the evening. Smell of rain in the night, The hours, the days and the seasons, Order their souls aright; Till I make plain the meaning Of all my thousand years— Till I fill their hearts with knowledge. While I fill their eyes with tears. PUCK'S SONG See you the ferny ride that steals Into the oak-woods far? O that was whence they hewed the keels That rolled to Trafalgar. And mark you where the ivy clings To Bayham's mouldering walls? O there we cast the stout railings That stand around St. Paul's. See you the dimpled track that runs All hollow through the wheat? O that was where they hauled the guns That smote King Philip's fleet. Out of the Weald, the secret Weald, Men sent in ancient years, The horse-shoes red at Flodden Field, The arrows at Poitiers. See you our little mill that clacks, So busy by the brook? She has ground her corn and paid her tax Ever since Domesday Book. See you our stilly woods of oak? And the dread ditch beside? O that was where the Saxons broke On the day that Harold died. See you the windy levels spread About the gates of Rye? O that was where the Northmen fled, When Alfred's ships came by. See you our pastures wide and lone, Where the red oxen browse? O there was a City thronged and known. Ere London boasted a house. And see you, after rain, the trace Of mound and ditch and wall? O that was a Legion's camping-place, When Caesar sailed from Gaul. And see you marks that show and fade, Like shadows on the Downs? O they are the lines the Flint Men made, To guard their wondrous towns. Trackway and Camp and City lost, Salt Marsh where now is corn; Old Wars, old Peace, old Arts that cease, And so was England born! She is not any common Earth, Water or wood or air, But Merlin's Isle of Gramarye, Where you and I will fare. THE WAY THROUGH THE WOODS They shut the road through the woods Seventy years ago. Weather and rain have undone it again, And now you would never know There was once a road through the woods Before they planted the trees. It is underneath the coppice and heath, And the thin anemones. Only the keeper sees That, where the ring-dove broods. And the badgers roll at ease, There was once a road through the woods. Yet, if you enter the woods Of a summer evening late, When the night-air cools on the trout-ringed pools Where the otter whistles his mate. (They fear not men in the woods. Because they see so few) You will hear the beat of a horse's feet, And the swish of a skirt in the dew, Steadily cantering through The misty solitudes, As though they perfectly knew The old lost road through the woods … But there is no road through the woods! A THREE-PART SONG I'm just in love with all these three, The Weald and the Marsh and the Down countrie; Nor I don't know which I love the most, The Weald or the Marsh or the white chalk coast! I've buried my heart in a ferny hill, Twix' a liddle low shaw an' a great high gill. Oh hop-bine yaller an' wood-smoke blue, I reckon you'll keep her middling true! I've loosed my mind for to out and run On a Marsh that was old when Kings begun. Oh Romney Level and Brenzett reeds, I reckon you know what my mind needs! I've given my soul to the Southdown grass, And sheep-bells tinkled where you pass. Oh Firle an' Ditchling an' sails at sea, I reckon you keep my soul for me! THE RUN OF THE DOWNS The Weald is good, the Downs are best — I'll give you the run of 'em, East to West. Beachy Head and Winddoor Hill, They were once and they are still, Firle, Mount Caburn and Mount Harry Go back as far as sums'll carry. Ditchling Beacon and Chanctonbury Ring, They have looked on many a thing, And what those two have missed between 'em I reckon Truleigh Hill has seen 'em. Highden, Bignor and Duncton Down Knew Old England before the Crown. Linch Down, Treyford and Sunwood Knew Old England before the Flood. And when you end on the Hampshire side— Butser's old as Time and Tide. The Downs are sheep, the Weald is corn, You be glad you are Sussex born! BROOKLAND ROAD I was very well pleased with what I knowed, I reckoned myself no fool— Till I met with a maid on the Brookland Road, That turned me back to school. Low down—low down! Where the liddle green lanterns shine— O maids, I've done with 'ee all but one, And she can never be mine! 'Twas right in the middest of a hot June night, With thunder duntin' round, And I see'd her face by the fairy light That beats from off the ground. She only smiled and she never spoke, She smiled and went away; But when she'd gone my heart was broke, And my wits was clean astray. O stop your ringing and let me be— Let be, O Brookland bells! You'll ring Old Goodman[A] out of the sea, Before I wed one else! Old Goodman's Farm is rank sea-sand, And was this thousand year: But it shall turn to rich plough land Before I change my dear. O, Fairfield Church is water-bound From autumn to the spring; But it shall turn to high hill ground Before my bells do ring. O, leave me walk on the Brookland Road, In the thunder and warm rain— O, leave me look where my love goed, And p'raps I'll see her again! Low down—low down! Where the liddle green lanterns shine— O maids, I've done with 'ee all but one, And she can never be mine! [Footnote A: Earl Godwin of the Goodwin Sands?] THE SACK OF THE GODS Strangers drawn from the ends of the earth, jewelled and plumed were we. I was Lord of the Inca race, and she was Queen of the Sea. Under the stars beyond our stars where the new-forged meteors glow Hotly we stormed Valhalla, a million years ago. Ever 'neath high Valhalla Hall the well-tuned horns begin When the swords are out in the underworld, and the weary Gods come in. Ever through high Valhalla Gate the Patient Angel goes; He opens the eyes that are blind with hate—he joins the hands of foes. Dust of the stars was under our feet, glitter of stars above— Wrecks of our wrath dropped reeling down as we fought and we spurned and we strove. Worlds upon worlds we tossed aside, and scattered them to and fro, The night that we stormed Valhalla, a million years ago! They are forgiven as they forgive all those dark wounds and deep, Their beds are made on the lap of Time and they lie down and sleep. They are forgiven as they forgive all those old wounds that bleed, They shut their eyes from their worshippers. They sleep till the world has need. She with the star I had marked for my own—I with my set desire— Lost in the loom of the Night of Nights—lighted by worlds afire— Met in a war against the Gods where the headlong meteors glow, Hewing our way to Valhalla, a million years ago! They will come back—come back again, as long as the red Earth rolls. He never wasted a leaf or a tree. Do you think He would squander souls? THE KINGDOM Now we are come to our Kingdom, And the State is thus and thus; Our legions wait at the Palace gate—- Little it profits us, Now we are come to our Kingdom! Now we are come to our Kingdom, And the Crown is ours to take— With a naked sword at the Council board, And under the throne the Snake, Now we are come to our Kingdom! Now we are come to our Kingdom, And the Realm is ours by right, With shame and fear for our daily cheer, And heaviness at night, Now we are come to our Kingdom! Now we are come to our Kingdom, But my love's eyelids fall. All that I wrought for, all that I fought for, Delight her nothing at all. My crown is of withered leaves, For she sits in the dust and grieves. Now we are come to our Kingdom! TARRANT MOSS I closed and drew for my love's sake That now is false to me, And I slew the Reiver of Tarrant Moss And set Dumeny free. They have gone down, they have gone down, They are standing all arow— Twenty knights in the peat-water, That never struck a blow! Their armour shall not dull nor rust, Their flesh shall not decay, For Tarrant Moss holds them in trust, Until the Judgment Day. Their soul went from them in their youth, Ah God, that mine had gone, Whenas I leaned on my love's truth And not on my sword alone! Whenas I leaned on lad's belief And not on my naked blade— And I slew a thief, and an honest thief, For the sake of a worthless maid. They have laid the Reiver low in his place, They have set me up on high, But the twenty knights in the peat-water Are luckier than I. And ever they give me gold and praise And ever I mourn my loss— For I struck the blow for my false love's sake And not for the Men of the Moss! SIR RICHARD'S SONG (A.D. 1066) I followed my Duke ere I was a lover, To take from England fief and fee; But now this game is the other way over— But now England hath taken me! I had my horse, my shield and banner, And a boy's heart, so whole and free; But now I sing in another manner— But now England hath taken me! As for my Father in his tower, Asking news of my ship at sea; He will remember his own hour— Tell him England hath taken me! As for my Mother in her bower, That rules my Father so cunningly, She will remember a maiden's power— Tell her England hath taken me! As for my Brother in Rouen City, A nimble and naughty page is he, But he will come to suffer and pity— Tell him England hath taken me! As for my little Sister waiting In the pleasant orchards of Normandie, Tell her youth is the time for mating— Tell her England hath taken me! As for my Comrades in camp and highway, That lift their eyebrows scornfully, Tell them their way is not my way— Tell them England hath taken me! Kings and Princes and Barons famed, Knights and Captains in your degree; Hear me a little before I am blamed— Seeing England hath taken me! Howso great man's strength be reckoned, There are two things he cannot flee; Love is the first, and Death is the second— And Love in England hath taken me! A TREE SONG (A.D. 1200) Of all the trees that grow so fair, Old England to adorn, Greater are none beneath the Sun, Than Oak, and Ash, and Thorn. Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs (All of a Midsummer morn)! Surely we sing no little thing, In Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! Oak of the Clay lived many a day Or ever AEneas began; Ash of the Loam was a lady at home When Brut was an outlaw man. Thorn of the Down saw New Troy Town (From which was London born); Witness hereby the ancientry Of Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! Yew that is old in churchyard mould, He breedeth a mighty bow; Alder for shoes do wise men choose, And beech for cups also. But when ye have killed, and your bowl is spilled, And your shoes are clean outworn, Back ye must speed for all that ye need, To Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! Ellum she hateth mankind, and waiteth Till every gust be laid, To drop a limb on the head of him That anyway trusts her shade: But whether a lad be sober or sad, Or mellow with ale from the horn, He will take no wrong when he lieth along 'Neath Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! Oh, do not tell the Priest our plight, Or he would call it a sin; But—we have been out in the woods all night, A-conjuring Summer in! And we bring you news by word of mouth— Good news for cattle and corn— Now is the Sun come up from the South, With Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! Sing Oak, and Ash, and Thorn, good sirs (All of a Midsummer morn)! England shall bide till Judgment Tide, By Oak, and Ash, and Thorn! CUCKOO SONG Spring begins in Southern England on the 14th April, on which date the Old Woman lets the Cuckoo out of her basket at Heathfield Fair—locally known as Heffle Cuckoo Fair. Tell it to the locked-up trees, Cuckoo, bring your song here! Warrant, Act and Summons, please. For Spring to pass along here! Tell old Winter, if he doubt, Tell him squat and square—a! Old Woman! Old Woman! Old Woman's let the Cuckoo out At Heffle Cuckoo Fair—a! March has searched and April tried— 'Tisn't long to May now, Not so far to Whitsuntide, And Cuckoo's come to stay now! Hear the valiant fellow shout Down the orchard bare—a! Old Woman! Old Woman! Old Woman's let the Cuckoo out At Heffle Cuckoo Fair—a! When your heart is young and gay And the season rules it— Work your works and play your play 'Fore the Autumn cools it! Kiss you turn and turn about, But my lad, beware—a! Old Woman! Old Woman! Old Woman's let the Cuckoo out At Heffle Cuckoo Fair—a! A CHARM Take of English earth as much As either hand may rightly clutch. In the taking of it breathe Prayer for all who lie beneath. Not the great nor well-bespoke, But the mere uncounted folk Of whose life and death is none Report or lamentation. Lay that earth upon thy heart, And thy sickness shall depart! It shall sweeten and make whole Fevered breath and festered soul. It shall mightily restrain Over-busy hand and brain. It shall ease thy mortal strife 'Gainst the immortal woe of life, Till thyself restored shall prove By what grace the Heavens do move. Take of English flowers these— Spring's full-faced primroses, Summer's wild wide-hearted rose, Autumn's wall-flower of the close, And, thy darkness to illume, Winter's bee-thronged ivy-bloom. Seek and serve them where they bide From Candlemas to Christmas-tide, For these simples, used aright, Can restore a failing sight. These shall cleanse and purify Webbed and inward-turning eye; These shall show thee treasure hid, Thy familiar fields amid; And reveal (which is thy need) Every man a King indeed! THE PRAIRIE 'I see the grass shake in the sun for leagues on either hand, I see a river loop and run about a treeless land— An empty plain, a steely pond, a distance diamond-clear, And low blue naked hills beyond. And what is that to fear?' 'Go softly by that river-side or, when you would depart, You'll find its every winding tied and knotted round your heart. Be wary as the seasons pass, or you may ne'er outrun The wind that sets that yellowed grass a-shiver 'neath the Sun.' 'I hear the summer storm outblown—the drip of the grateful wheat. I hear the hard trail telephone a far-off horse's feet. I hear the horns of Autumn blow to the wild-fowl overhead; And I hear the hush before the snow. And what is that to dread?' 'Take heed what spell the lightning weaves—what charm the echoes shape— Or, bound among a million sheaves, your soul may not escape. Bar home the door of summer nights lest those high planets drown The memory of near delights in all the longed-for town.' 'What need have I to long or fear? Now, friendly, I behold My faithful seasons robe the year in silver and in gold. Now I possess and am possessed of the land where I would be, And the curve of half Earth's generous breast shall soothe and ravish me!' CHAPTER HEADINGS PLAIN TALES FROM THE HILLS Look, you have cast out Love! What Gods are these You bid me please? The Three in One, the One in Three? Not so! To my own Gods I go. It may be they shall give me greater ease Than your cold Christ and tangled Trinities. Lispeth . When the Earth was sick and the Skies were grey, And the woods were rotted with rain, The Dead Man rode through the autumn day To visit his love again. His love she neither saw nor heard, So heavy was her shame; And tho' the babe within her stirred She knew not that he came. The Other Man. Cry 'Murder' in the market-place, and each Will turn upon his neighbour anxious eyes Asking;—'Art thou the man?' We hunted Cain Some centuries ago across the world. This bred the fear our own misdeeds maintain To-day. His Wedded Wife. Go, stalk the red deer o'er the heather, Ride, follow the fox if you can! But, for pleasure and profit together, Allow me the hunting of Man— The chase of the Human, the search for the Soul To its ruin—the hunting of Man. Pig. 'Stopped in the straight when the race was his own! Look at him cutting it—cur to the bone!' Ask ere the youngster be rated and chidden What did he carry and how was he ridden? Maybe they used him too much at the start; Maybe Fate's weight-cloths are breaking his heart. In the Pride of his Youth. 'And some are sulky, while some will plunge. (So ho! Steady! Stand still, you!) Some you must gentle, and some you must lunge. (There! There! Who wants to kill you?) Some—there are losses in every trade— Will break their hearts ere bitted and made, Will fight like fiends as the rope cuts hard, And die dumb-mad in the breaking-yard.' Thrown Away. The World hath set its heavy yoke Upon the old white-bearded folk Who strive to please the King. God's mercy is upon the young, God's wisdom in the baby tongue That fears not anything. Tod's Amendment. Not though you die to-night, O Sweet, and wail, A spectre at my door, Shall mortal Fear make Love immortal fail— I shall but love you more, Who, from Death's House returning, give me still One moment's comfort in my matchless ill. By Word of Mouth. They burnt a corpse upon the sand— The light shone out afar; It guided home the plunging boats That beat from Zanzibar. Spirit of Fire, where'er Thy altars rise, Thou art the Light of Guidance to our eyes! In Error. Ride with an idle whip, ride with an unused heel. But, once in a way, there will come a day When the colt must be taught to feel The lash that falls, and the curb that galls, and the sting of the rowelled steel. The Conversion of Aurelian McGoggin. It was not in the open fight We threw away the sword, But in the lonely watching In the darkness by the ford. The waters lapped, the night-wind blew, Full-armed the Fear was born and grew, From panic in the night. The Rout of the White Hussars. In the daytime, when she moved about me, In the night, when she was sleeping at my side,— I was wearied, I was wearied of her presence. Day by day and night by night I grew to hate her— Would God that she or I had died! The Bronckhorst Divorce Case. A stone's throw out on either hand From that well-ordered road we tread, And all the world is wild and strange; Churel and ghoul and Djinn and sprite Shall bear us company to-night, For we have reached the Oldest Land Wherein the powers of Darkness range. In the House of Suddhoo. To-night, God knows what thing shall tide, The Earth is racked and fain— Expectant, sleepless, open-eyed; And we, who from the Earth were made, Thrill with our Mother's pain. False Dawn. Pit where the buffalo cooled his hide, By the hot sun emptied, and blistered and dried; Log in the reh-grass, hidden and lone; Bund where the earth-rat's mounds are strown; Cave in the bank where the sly stream steals; Aloe that stabs at the belly and heels, Jump if you dare on a steed untried— Safer it is to go wide—go wide! Hark, from in front where the best men ride;— 'Pull to the off, boys! Wide! Go wide!' Cupid's Arrows. He drank strong waters and his speech was coarse; He purchased raiment and forbore to pay; He stuck a trusting junior with a horse, And won gymkhanas in a doubtful way. Then, 'twixt a vice and folly, turned aside To do good deeds and straight to cloak them, lied. A Bank Fraud. COLD IRON 'Gold is for the mistress—silver for the maid— Copper for the craftsman cunning at his trade.' 'Good!' said the Baron, sitting in his hall, 'But Iron—Cold Iron—is master of them all.' So he made rebellion 'gainst the King his liege, Camped before his citadel and summoned it to siege. 'Nay!' said the cannoneer on the castle wall, 'But Iron—Cold Iron—shall be master of you all!' Woe for the Baron and his knights so strong, When the cruel cannon-balls laid 'em all along! He was taken prisoner, he was cast in thrall, And Iron—Cold Iron—was master of it all. Yet his King spake kindly (Ah, how kind a Lord!) 'What if I release thee now and give thee back thy sword?' 'Nay!' said the Baron, 'mock not at my fall, For Iron—Cold Iron—is master of men all.' 'Tears are for the craven, prayers are for the clown— Halters for the silly neck that cannot keep a crown.' 'As my loss is grievous, so my hope is small, For Iron—Cold Iron—must be master of men all!' Yet his King made answer (few such Kings there be!) 'Here is Bread and here is Wine—sit and sup with me. Eat and drink in Mary's Name, the whiles I do recall How Iron—Cold Iron—can be master of men all!' He took the Wine and blessed It. He blessed and brake the Bread. With His own Hands He served Them, and presently He said: 'See! These Hands they pierced with nails, outside My city wall, Show Iron—Cold Iron—to be master of men all! 'Wounds are for the desperate, blows are for the strong, Balm and oil for weary hearts all cut and bruised with wrong. I forgive thy treason—I redeem thy fall— For Iron—Cold Iron—must be master of men all!' 'Crowns are for the valiant—sceptres for the bold! Thrones and powers for mighty men who dare to take and hold.' 'Nay!' said the Baron, kneeling in his hall, 'But Iron—Cold Iron—is master of man all! Iron out of Calvary is master of men all!' A SONG OF KABIR Oh, light was the world that he weighed in his hands! Oh, heavy the tale of his fiefs and his lands! He has gone from the guddee and put on the shroud, And departed in guise of bairagi avowed! Now the white road to Delhi is mat for his feet. The sal and the kikar must guard him from heat. His home is the camp, and the waste, and the crowd— He is seeking the Way as bairagi avowed! He has looked upon Man, and his eyeballs are clear— (There was One; there is One, and but One, saith Kabir); The Red Mist of Doing has thinned to a cloud— He has taken the Path for bairagi avowed! To learn and discern of his brother the clod, Of his brother the brute, and his brother the God, He has gone from the council and put on the shroud ('Can ye hear?' saith Kabir), a bairagi avowed! A CAROL Our Lord Who did the Ox command To kneel to Judah's King, He binds His frost upon the land To ripen it for Spring— To ripen it for Spring, good sirs, According to His Word; Which well must be as ye can see— And who shall judge the Lord? When we poor fenmen skate the ice Or shiver on the wold, We hear the cry of a single tree That breaks her heart in the cold— That breaks her heart in the cold, good sirs, And rendeth by the board; Which well must be as ye can see— And who shall judge the Lord? Her wood is crazed and little worth Excepting as to burn, That we may warm and make our mirth Until the Spring return— Until the Spring return, good sirs. When people walk abroad; Which well must be as ye can see— And who shall judge the Lord? God bless the master of this house. And all who sleep therein! And guard the fens from pirate folk. And keep us all from sin, To walk in honesty, good sirs, Of thought and deed and word! Which shall befriend our latter end— And who shall judge the Lord? 'MY NEW-CUT ASHLAR' My new-cut ashlar takes the light Where crimson-blank the windows flare. By my own work before the night, Great Overseer, I make my prayer. If there be good in that I wrought, Thy Hand compelled it, Master, Thine— Where I have failed to meet Thy Thought I know, through Thee, the blame was mine. One instant's toil to Thee denied Stands all Eternity's offence. Of that I did with Thee to guide To Thee, through Thee, be excellence. The depth and dream of my desire, The bitter paths wherein I stray— Thou knowest Who hath made the Fire, Thou knowest Who hast made the Clay. Who, lest all thought of Eden fade, Bring'st Eden to the craftsman's brain— Godlike to muse o'er his own Trade And manlike stand with God again! One stone the more swings into place In that dread Temple of Thy worth. It is enough that, through Thy Grace, I saw nought common on Thy Earth. Take not that vision from my ken— Oh whatsoe'er may spoil or speed. Help me to need no aid from men That I may help such men as need! EDDI'S SERVICE (A.D. 687) Eddi, priest of St. Wilfrid In the chapel at Manhood End, Ordered a midnight service For such as cared to attend. But the Saxons were keeping Christmas, And the night was stormy as well. Nobody came to service Though Eddi rang the bell. 'Wicked weather for walking,' Said Eddi of Manhood End. 'But I must go on with the service For such as care to attend.' The altar-candles were lighted,— An old marsh donkey came, Bold as a guest invited, And stared at the guttering flame. The storm beat on at the windows, The water splashed on the floor, And a wet, yoke-weary bullock Pushed in through the open door. 'How do I know what is greatest, How do I know what is least? That is My Father's business,' Said Eddi, Wilfrid's priest. 'But—three are gathered together— Listen to me and attend. I bring good news, my brethren!' Said Eddi of Manhood End. And he told the Ox of a Manger And a Stall in Bethlehem, And he spoke to the Ass of a Rider, That rode to Jerusalem. They steamed and dripped in the chancel, They listened and never stirred, While, just as though they were Bishops, Eddi preached them The Word. Till the gale blew off on the marshes And the windows showed the day, And the Ox and the Ass together Wheeled and clattered away. And when the Saxons mocked him, Said Eddi of Manhood End, 'I dare not shut His chapel On such as care to attend.' SHIV AND THE GRASSHOPPER Shiv, who poured the harvest and made the winds to blow, Sitting at the doorways of a day of long ago, Gave to each his portion, food and toil and fate, From the King upon the guddee to the Beggar at the gate. All things made he—Shiva the Preserver. Mahadeo! Mahadeo! He made all,— Thorn for the camel, fodder for the kine, And mother's heart for sleepy head, O little son of mine! Wheat he gave to rich folk, millet to the poor, Broken scraps for holy men that beg from door to door; Cattle to the tiger, carrion to the kite, And rags and bones to wicked wolves without the wall at night. Naught he found too lofty, none he saw too low— Parbati beside him watched them come and go; Thought to cheat her husband, turning Shiv to jest— Stole the little grasshopper and hid it in her breast. So she tricked him, Shiva the Preserver. Mahadeo! Mahadeo! turn and see! Tall are the camels, heavy are the kine, But this was Least of Little Things, O little son of mine! When the dole was ended, laughingly she said, 'Master, of a million mouths is not one unfed?' Laughing, Shiv made answer, 'All have had their part, Even he, the little one, hidden 'neath thy heart.' From her breast she plucked it, Parbati the thief, Saw the Least of Little Things gnawed a new-grown leaf! Saw and feared and wondered, making prayer to Shiv, Who hath surely given meat to all that live. All things made he—Shiva the Preserver. Mahadeo! Mahadeo! He made all,— Thorn for the camel, fodder for the kine, And mother's heart for sleepy head, O little son of mine! THE FAIRIES' SIEGE I have been given my charge to keep— Well have I kept the same! Playing with strife for the most of my life, But this is a different game. I 'll not fight against swords unseen, Or spears that I cannot view— Hand him the keys of the place on your knees— 'Tis the Dreamer whose dreams come true! Ask for his terms and accept them at once. Quick, ere we anger him; go! Never before have I flinched from the guns, But this is a different show. I 'll not fight with the Herald of God (I know what his Master can do!) Open the gate, he must enter in state, 'Tis the Dreamer whose dreams come true! I'd not give way for an Emperor, I'd hold my road for a King— To the Triple Crown I would not bow down— But this is a different thing. I 'll not fight with the Powers of Air, Sentry, pass him through! Drawbridge let fall, it's the Lord of us all, The Dreamer whose dreams come true!