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: SWING-SONG. Swing ! swing! Birds in the budding wood, birds on the wing Fill sweet soft air with carolling ; The woods no more contain their glee, Joy brims over on every tree In a flutter of leaves hilariously, Swing! swing! Early primroses awake from sleep, In many a dewy dale they peep ; Lo ! populous land, far field and grove, Aerial as clouds that move In labyrinthine drifts above ! Swing! swing! Anemone-flakes of a veined snow Lie over the sunny herbs below, Lie over brown bents, woven and wet, Where yellow-eyed white violet With moss and strawberry hath met, Swing! swing! Spring waves her youngling leaves for token Dark winter's deadlier spells are broken ; The firry roofs, with low sea-sound, Welcome to their calm profound The dove's long call in a love-swound, Swing! swing! Baby-boy lies on a sisterly arm Of little maid Mary, safe from harm, Little boy Willy will push the pair, Hark ! how they laugh as they rush through the All the young world laughs, oh, how fair! Swing! swing! MAGIC-LANTERN. I WAS within a darkened chamber, Full of children small; Upon my knees I felt him clamber, One of the least of all, Answering my call. He was a baby of the people, Nor aught of him I knew; Only the shadow of one steeple Abode upon us two ; His arms around me grew. Quaint figure, battle, bark, snow-mountain, The lantern-wizardry, Arouse joy's hidden silver fountain To pretty wondering glee, Plashing full merrily. Albeit nor now, before, nor after, Mine eyes beheld the boy, When he so pealed with innocent laughter, Methought my own, my joy, Awhile with me did toy. Athwart the drear unwarmed abysses Of all the later years, He leaned awhile from angel blisses, To calm my foolish fears, ...