The Leprechaun saw he'd no chance-on they went, At last they arrived at a field of tall wheat, But there was not a landmark to mark out the spot, And Tom recollected that with him he'd not He knew that the Leprechaun wouldn't stay there Till he could go home and procure them, And his thoughts that the treasure he still might not share, Were so bitter, he scarce could endure them. The Leprechaun laughed, and cried, "Tom, work away, And I will stand by just to view you, There's gold to be got that will labour repay; A thought then rushed right into cunning Tom's head, Then he took off his garter, of ribbon, bright red, "It's all right," he said, "I shall now know the place," And he felt once again quite light-hearted ;— "Well, good by t'ye Tom, since the spot you can trace," Said the Leprechaun;-then he departed. Tom jumped over ditches, Tom ran o'er each field, He stayed not a moment-he took up his tools, He got near the field-Yes! it must be the same— "Lord have mercy !" cried Tom, "why I can't dig all this! The field fifty acres has in it, It would take me a lifetime, and then I might miss— And how'd I know where to begin it? "That dirty ould blackguard has cheated me still, It's I am the biggest of martyrs!" And now, when the poppies the growing crops fill, Thus Tom he went home again just as he came, They told him he only himself had to blame Because if the treasure had really been there, He never went looking for fairies again, And when he, at last, some few guineas did gain, Our tale has a moral-all fairy tales have— THE CLOUD. PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY. I BRING fresh showers for the thirsting flowers, I bear light shades for the leaves when laid From my wings are shaken the dews that waken When rocked to rest, on their mother's breast, I wield the flail of the lashing hail, I sift the snow on the mountains below, In a cavern under is fettered the thunder Over earth and ocean, with gentle motion, Lured by the love of the genii they move Over the rills, and the crags, and the hills, Over the lakes and the plains, Wherever he dream, under mountain or stream The spirit he loves remains; And I all the while bask in heaven's blue smile The sanguine sunrise, with his meteor eyes In the light of its golden wings. And when sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath, Its ardours of rest and of love; And the crimson pall of eve may fall From the depth of heaven above, With wings folded I rest on mine airy nest, As still as a brooding dove. That orbed maiden with white fire laden, Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor, May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof, And I laugh to see them whirl and flee, Like a swarm of golden bees, When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent, Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high, I bind the Sun's throne with a burning zone, The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim, When the whirlwinds my banner unfurl. From cape to cape, with a bridge-like shape, Over a torrent sea, Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof, The triumphal arch through which I march, When the powers of the air are chained to my chair, The sphere-fire above its soft colours wove, I am the daughter of the earth and water, I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores; I change, but I cannot die. For after the rain, when, with never a stain, The pavilion of heaven is bare, And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex gleams, Build up the blue dome of air I silently laugh at my own cenotaph, And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I arise and unbuild it again. CORPORAL CRUMP'S NARRATIVE. Author of "The Belle of the Village," "Old English Gentleman," and other popular novels. "I'm not going," said Corporal Crump, "to give ye the particulars of my own life, only in so far as they may be considered part and parcel of the history of my betters, although, if I just break ground by saying that, in the words of the song, "Twas in the merry month of May, When bees from flower to flower do hum; Soldiers marching, passing gay, The village all flew to the sound of the drum ;' |