Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: WILD PLUM And, like a mother's hush-song to her child, It slowly softened as the night grew deep, Until by happy dreams we were beguiled Upon the breast of sleep. WILD PLUM OVERHEAD is the hum Of the wind in the gloom Of the sentinel pines ; And below the wild plum, Where the slanting sun shines, Shows its snowy white bloom, Flings its subtle perfume On the breeze To the bees. How they hover around, Tiny bandits and bold, Making thefts honey-sweet With a murmurous sound ! And the psyches they meet, Little atoms of gold, Join the frolic, and hold Jubilee Round the tree. Where is Mab ? where is Puck ? Is that Ariel sings From the crest of yon bough . . That no mortal should pluck ? O but list to it now ! — Revellings, rapturings ; — Then a glimmer of wings And away Like a ray. How the bloom and the balm And the bee and the bird, In the depth of the wood, To the heart bring a calm, To the spirit seem good, More than music or word ! Every fibre is stirred By the hum, — And the plum ! A BELL HAD I the power To cast a bell that should from some grand tower, At the first Christmas hour, Outring, And fling A jubilant message wide, The forged metals should be thus allied ; — No iron Pride, A BELL But soft Humility, and rich-veined Hope Cleft from a sunny slope ; And there should be White Charity, And silvery Love, that knows not Doubt nor Fear, To make the peal more clear ; And then to firmly fix the fine alloy, There should be Joy ! IN ITALIA THE SHEPHERD OF THE LIRO A DOWN the Alpine vale our way we wended Toward fair Italia, wrapt in rosy haze ; And ever, when we thought the path had ended, New vistas opened to our wondering gaze. Dark rocks lay strewn by ancient avalanche...