Chapter 1

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THE POSY RING

_The Posy Ring is a companion volume to Golden Numbers A Book of Verse for Youth Edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith_

THE POSY RING

A BOOK OF VERSE FOR CHILDREN

CHOSEN AND CLASSIFIED BY

Kate Douglas Wiggin

AND

Nora Archibald Smith

_"A box of jewels, shop of rarities, A ring whose posy was 'My pleasure'"_ GEORGE HERBERT

MCCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO. NEW YORK MCMVI

_Copyright, 1903, by_ McCLURE, PHILLIPS & CO.

Published, February, 1903, N Fifth Impression.

A NOTE

_THANKS are due to the following publishers for permission to reprint poems on which they hold copyright:_

_Charles Scribner's Sons, for permission to use the following poems by Robert Louis Stevenson: "Windy Nights," "Where Go the Boats?" "The Little Land," "The Land of Story Books" and "Bed Time"; for the following poems by Mary Mapes Dodge: "Nearly Ready," "Now the Noisy Winds are Still," "Snowflakes," "Birdies with Broken Wings," and "Night and Day"; for the following poems by Eugene Field: "Wynken, Blynken, and Nod," and "Nightfall in Dordrecht"; for "Rockaby, Lullaby," by J. G. Holland; and for "One, Two, Three," by H. C. Bunner. G. P. Putnam's Sons, for permission to use "High and Low," by Dora Goodale. D. Appleton & Son, publishers of Bryant's Complete Poetical Works, for permission to reprint "Robert of Lincoln," by W. C. Bryant. E. P. Dutton & Co., for permission to reprint "The Birds in Spring," by Thomas Nashe. A. C. McClurg & Co., for permission to reprint "Baby Seed Song" and "Bird's Song in Spring," by E. Nesbit. The Century Company, for permission to reprint the "Seal Lullaby," by Rudyard Kipling. The "Independent," for permission to reprint "Baby Corn," Anon. Dana, Estes & Co., for permission to reprint "The Blue Jay," by Susan Hartley Swett. Small, Maynard & Co., for permission to reprint the following poems by John B. Tabb: "The Fern Song," "A Bunch of Roses," "The Child at Bethlehem." George Routledge & Sons, for permission to reprint the following poems by W. B. Rands: "The Child's World," "The Wonderful World," "Love and the Child," "Dolladine," "Dressing the Doll," "The Pedlar's Caravan," and "Little Christel"; also for "Little White Lily" and "What Would You See?" by George Macdonald, and "The Wind," by L. E. Landon. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., for the right to reprint the following poems: "Marjorie's Almanac," by T. B. Aldrich; "Dandelion," by Helen Grey Cone; "The Fairies' Shopping" and "The Christmas Silence," by Margaret Deland; "The Titmouse" and "Fable," by Ralph Waldo Emerson; "Hiawatha's Chickens" and "Hiawatha's Brothers," by Henry W. Longfellow; "The Fountain," by James Russell Lowell; "The Rivulet," by Lucy Larcom; "The Coming of Spring," by Nora Perry; "May," "The Waterfall," "Clouds," and "Bells of Christmas," by Frank Dempster Sherman; "What the Winds Bring" and "The Singer," by E. C. Stedman; "Spring," "Wild Geese," "Chanticleer," and "Little Gustava," by Celia Thaxter. Little, Brown & Co., for the right to reprint "September," by Helen Hunt Jackson; "When the Leaves Come Down," by Susan Coolidge; and "Summer Days," "A Year's Windfalls," "The Flower Folk," "There's Nothing Like the Rose," "Milking Time," "A Chill," and "A Birthday Gift," by Christina G. Rossetti. St. Nicholas, for permission to reprint "The Little Elf," by John Kendrick Bangs. The Macmillan Company, for permission to reprint "O Lady Moon," by Christina G. Rossetti. Frederick Warne & Co., for permission to reprint "By Cool Siloam's Shady Rill," by Reginald Heber. Cassell & Co., Ltd., for permission to reprint "The Last Voyage of the Fairies," by W. H. Davenport Adams._

PUBLIC NOTICE.--_This is to state, That these are the specimens left at the gate Of Pinafore Palace, exact to date, In the hands of the porter, Curlypate, Who sits in his plush on a chair of state, By somebody who is a candidate For the office of Lilliput Laureate._ _William Brighty Rands._

CONTENTS

Page

LILLIPUT NOTICE. By _William Brighty Rands_ ix

A YEAR'S WINDFALLS

Marjorie's Almanac. By _Thomas Bailey Aldrich_ 3 In February. By _John Addington Symonds_ 5 March. By _William Wordsworth_ 6 Nearly Ready. By _Mary Mapes Dodge_ 7 Spring Song. By _George Eliot_ 7 In April. By _Elizabeth Akers_ 8 Spring. By _Celia Thaxter_ 9 The Voice of Spring. By _Mary Howitt_ 10 The Coming of Spring. By _Nora Perry_ 11 May. By _Frank Dempster Sherman_ 13 Spring and Summer. By "_A._" 14 Summer Days. By _Christina G. Rossetti_ 15 September. By _H. H._ 16 How the Leaves Came Down. By _Susan Coolidge_ 17 Winter Night. By _Mary F. Butts_ 19 A Year's Windfalls. By _Christina G. Rossetti_ 20

THE CHILD'S WORLD

The Wonderful World. By _William Brighty Rands_ 27 A Day. By _Emily Dickinson_ 28 Good-Morning. By _Robert Browning_ 29 What the Winds Bring. By _Edmund Clarence Stedman_ 29 Lady Moon. By _Lord Houghton_ 30 O Lady Moon. By _Christina G. Rossetti_ 31 Windy Nights. By _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 31 Wild Winds. By _Mary F. Butts_ 32 Now the Noisy Winds are Still. By _Mary Mapes Dodge_ 33 The Wind. _Letitia E. Landon_ 33 The Fountain. By _James Russell Lowell_ 34 The Waterfall. By _Frank Dempster Sherman_ 35 The Voice of the Grass. By _Sarah Roberts Boyle_ 36 The Wind in a Frolic. By _William Howitt_ 38 Clouds. By _Frank Dempster Sherman_ 40 Signs of Rain. By _Edward Jenner_ 41 A Sudden Shower. By _James Whitcomb Riley_ 43 Strange Lands. By _Laurence Alma Tadema_ 44 Guessing Song. By _Henry Johnstone_ 45 The Rivulet. By _Lucy Larcom_ 46 Jack Frost. By _Hannah F. Gould_ 47 Snowflakes. By _Mary Mapes Dodge_ 49 The Water! The Water. By _William Motherwell_ 49

HIAWATHA'S CHICKENS

The Swallows. By _Edwin Arnold_ 53 The Swallow's Nest. By _Edwin Arnold_ 53 The Birds in Spring. By _Thomas Nashe_ 54 Robin Redbreast. By _William Allingham_ 54 The Lark and the Rook. _Unknown_ 56 The Snowbird. By _Hezekiah Butterworth_ 57 Who Stole the Bird's Nest? By _Lydia Maria Child_ 59 Answer to a Child's Question. By _Samuel Taylor Coleridge_ 62 The Burial of the Linnet. By _Juliana H. Ewing_ 63 The Titmouse. By _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ 64 Birds in Summer. By _Mary Howitt_ 65 An Epitaph on a Robin Redbreast. By _Samuel Rogers_ 67 The Bluebird. By _Emily Huntington Miller_ 68 Song. By _John Keats_ 69 What Does Little Birdie Say? By _Alfred, Lord Tennyson_ 69 The Owl. By _Alfred, Lord Tennyson_ 70 Wild Geese. By _Celia Thaxter_ 71 Chanticleer. By _Celia Thaxter_ 72 The Singer. By _Edmund Clarence Stedman_ 73 The Blue Jay. By _Susan Hartley Swett_ 74 Robert of Lincoln. By _William Cullen Bryant_ 75 White Butterflies. By _Algernon C. Swinburne_ 78 The Ant and the Cricket. _Unknown_ 78

THE FLOWER FOLK

Little White Lily. By _George Macdonald_ 83 Violets. By _Dinah Maria Mulock_ 85 Young Dandelion. By _Dinah Maria Mulock_ 86 Baby Seed Song. By _E. Nesbit_ 88 A Violet Bank. By _William Shakespeare_ 88 There's Nothing Like the Rose. By _Christina G. Rossetti_ 89 Snowdrops. By _Laurence Alma Tadema_ 89 Fern Song. By _John B. Tabb_ 90 The Violet. By _Jane Taylor_ 90 Daffy-Down-Dilly. By _Anna B. Warner_ 91 Baby Corn. _Unknown_ 93 A Child's Fancy. By "_A._" 95 Little Dandelion. By _Helen B. Bostwick_ 97 Dandelions. By _Helen Gray Cone_ 98 The Flax Flower. By _Mary Howitt_ 99 Dear Little Violets. By _John Moultrie_ 101 Bird's Song in Spring. By _E. Nesbit_ 102 The Tree. By _Björnstjerne Björnson_ 102 The Daisy's Song. By _John Keats_ 103 Song. By _Thomas Love Peacock_ 104 For Good Luck. By _Juliana Horatia Ewing_ 105

HIAWATHA'S BROTHERS

My Pony. By "_A._" 109 On a Spaniel, Called Beau, Killing a Young Bird. By _William Cowper_ 111 Beau's Reply. By _William Cowper_ 112 Seal Lullaby. By _Rudyard Kipling_ 113 Milking Time. By _Christina G. Rossetti_ 113 Thank You, Pretty Cow. By _Jane Taylor_ 114 The Boy and the Sheep. By _Ann Taylor_ 114 Lambs in the Meadow. By _Laurence Alma Tadema_ 115 The Pet Lamb. By _William Wordsworth_ 116 The Kitten, and Falling Leaves. By _William Wordsworth_ 121

OTHER LITTLE CHILDREN

Where Go the Boats? By _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 125 Cleanliness. By _Charles and Mary Lamb_ 126 Wishing. By _William Allingham_ 127 The Boy. By _William Allingham_ 128 Infant Joy. By _William Blake_ 129 A Blessing for the Blessed. By _Laurence Alma Tadema_ 129 Piping Down the Valleys Wild. By _William Blake_ 131 A Sleeping Child. By _Arthur Hugh Clough_ 132 Birdies with Broken Wings. By _Mary Mapes Dodge_ 133 Seven Times One. By _Jean Ingelow_ 133 I Remember, I Remember. By _Thomas Hood_ 135 Good-Night and Good-Morning. By _Lord Houghton_ 136 Little Children. By _Mary Howitt_ 137 The Angel's Whisper. By _Samuel Lover_ 139 Little Garaine. By _Sir Gilbert Parker_ 140 A Letter. By _Matthew Prior_ 141 Love and the Child. By _William Brighty Rands_ 142 Polly. By _William Brighty Rands_ 143 A Chill. By _Christina G. Rossetti_ 144 A Child's Laughter. By _Algernon C. Swinburne_ 145 The World's Music. By _Gabriel Setoun_ 146 The Little Land. By _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 148 In a Garden. By _Algernon C. Swinburne_ 151 Little Gustava. By _Celia Thaxter_ 152 A Bunch of Roses. By _John B. Tabb_ 155 The Child at Bethlehem. By _John B. Tabb_ 155 After the Storm. By _W. M. Thackeray_ 156 Lucy Gray. By _William Wordsworth_ 156 Deaf and Dumb. By "_A_." 159 The Blind Boy. By _Colley Cibber_ 160

PLAY-TIME

A Boy's Song. By _James Hogg_ 165 The Lost Doll. By _Charles Kingsley_ 166 Dolladine. By _William Brighty Rands_ 167 Dressing the Doll. By _William Brighty Rands_ 167 The Pedlar's Caravan. By _William Brighty Rands_ 170 A Sea-Song from the Shore. _James Whitcomb Riley_ 171 The Land of Story-Books. By _Robert Louis Stevenson_ 172 The City Child. By _Alfred, Lord Tennyson_ 173 Going into Breeches. By _Charles and Mary Lamb_ 174 Hunting Song. By _Samuel Taylor Coleridge_ 176 Hie Away. By _Sir Walter Scott_ 176

STORY TIME

The Fairy Folk. By _Robert Bird_ 181 A Fairy in Armor. By _Joseph Rodman Drake_ 183 The Last Voyage of the Fairies. By _W. H. Davenport Adams_ 184 A New Fern. By "_A_." 186 The Child and the Fairies. By "_A_." 187 The Little Elf. By _John Kendrick Bangs_ 188 "One, Two, Three." By _Henry C. Bunner_ 188 What May Happen to a Thimble. By "_B_." 190 Discontent. By _Sarah Orne Jewett_ 193 The Nightingale and the Glowworm. By _William Cowper_ 195 Thanksgiving Day. By _Lydia Maria Child_ 196 A Thanksgiving Fable. By _Oliver Herford_ 197 The Magpie's Nest. By _Charles and Mary Lamb_ 198 The Owl and the Pussy-Cat. By _Edward Lear_ 201 A Lobster Quadrille. By _Lewis Carroll_ 202 The Fairies' Shopping. By _Margaret Deland_ 204 Fable. By _Ralph Waldo Emerson_ 206 A Midsummer Song. By _Richard Watson Gilder_ 207 The Fairies of the Caldon-Low. By _Mary Howitt_ 209 The Elf and the Dormouse. By _Oliver Herford_ 213 Meg Merrilies. By _John Keats_ 214 Romance. By _Gabriel Setoun_ 215 The Cow-Boy's Song. By _Anna M. Wells_ 217

BED TIME

Auld Daddy Darkness. By _James Ferguson_ 221 Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. By _Eugene Field_ 222 Rockaby, Lullaby. By _Josiah Gilbert Holland_ 224 Sleep, My Treasure. By _E. Nesbit_ 225 Lullaby of an Infant Chief. By _Sir Walter Scott_ 226 Sweet and Low. By _Alfred, Lord Tennyson_ 227 Old Gaelic Lullaby. _Unknown_ 228 The Sandman. By _Margaret Vandegrift_ 228 The Cottager to Her Infant. By _Dorothy Wordsworth_ 230 A Charm to Call Sleep. By _Henry Johnstone_ 231 Night. By _Mary F. Butts_ 232 Bed-Time. By _Lord Rosslyn_ 232 Nightfall in Dordrecht. By _Eugene Field_ 233

FOR SUNDAY'S CHILD

All Things Bright and Beautiful. By _Cecil F. Alexander_ 237 The Still Small Voice. By _Alexander Smart_ 238 The Camel's Nose. By _Lydia H. Sigourney_ 240 A Child's Grace. By _Robert Burns_ 241 A Child's Thought of God. By _Elizabeth B. Browning_ 241 The Lamb. By _William Blake_ 242 Night and Day. By _Mary Mapes Dodge_ 243 High and Low. By _Dora Read Goodale_ 244 By Cool Siloam's Shady Rill. By _Reginald Heber_ 244 Sheep and Lambs. By _Katharine Tynan Hinkson_ 245 To His Saviour, a Child; A Present by a Child. By _Robert Herrick_ 246 What Would You See? By _George Macdonald_ 247 Corn-Fields. By _Mary Howitt_ 248 Little Christel. By _William Brighty Rands_ 250 A Child's Prayer. By _M. Betham Edwards_ 252

BELLS OF CHRISTMAS

The Adoration of the Wise Men. By _Cecil F. Alexander_ 257 Cradle Hymn. By _Isaac Watts_ 258 The Christmas Silence. By _Margaret Deland_ 260 An Offertory. By _Mary Mapes Dodge_ 261 Christmas Song. By _Lydia Avery Coonley Ward_ 261 A Visit from St. Nicholas. By _Clement C. Moore_ 262 The Christmas Trees. By _Mary F. Butts_ 265 A Birthday Gift. By _Christina G. Rossetti_ 267 A Christmas Lullaby. By _John Addington Symonds_ 267 I Saw Three Ships. _Old Carol_ 268 Santa Claus. _Unknown_ 269 Neighbors of the Christ Night. By _Nora Archibald Smith_ 271 Cradle Hymn. By _Martin Luther_ 272 The Christmas Holly. By _Eliza Cook_ 273

LILLIPUT NOTICE. By _William Brighty Rands_ 274

THE POSY RING

I

A YEAR'S WINDFALLS

_Who comes dancing over the snow, His soft little feet all bare and rosy? Open the door, though the wild winds blow, Take the child in and make him cosy. Take him in and hold him dear, He is the wonderful glad New Year._

_Dinah M. Mulock._

A YEAR'S WINDFALLS

_Marjorie's Almanac_

Robins in the tree-top, Blossoms in the grass, Green things a-growing Everywhere you pass; Sudden little breezes, Showers of silver dew, Black bough and bent twig Budding out anew; Pine-tree and willow-tree, Fringèd elm and larch,-- Don't you think that May-time's Pleasanter than March?

Apples in the orchard Mellowing one by one; Strawberries upturning Soft cheeks to the sun; Roses faint with sweetness, Lilies fair of face, Drowsy scents and murmurs Haunting every place; Lengths of golden sunshine, Moonlight bright as day,-- Don't you think that summer's Pleasanter than May?

Roger in the corn-patch Whistling negro songs; Pussy by the hearth-side Romping with the tongs; Chestnuts in the ashes Bursting through the rind; Red leaf and gold leaf Rustling down the wind; Mother "doin' peaches" All the afternoon,-- Don't you think that autumn's Pleasanter than June?

Little fairy snow-flakes Dancing in the flue; Old Mr. Santa Claus, What is keeping you? Twilight and firelight Shadows come and go; Merry chime of sleigh-bells Tinkling through the snow; Mother knitting stockings (Pussy's got the ball),-- Don't you think that winter's Pleasanter than all?

Thomas Bailey Aldrich.

_In February_

The birds have been singing to-day, And saying: "The spring is near! The sun is as warm as in May, And the deep blue heavens are clear."

The little bird on the boughs Of the sombre snow-laden pine Thinks: "Where shall I build me my house, And how shall I make it fine?

"For the season of snow is past; The mild south wind is on high; And the scent of the spring is cast From his wing as he hurries by."

The little birds twitter and cheep To their loves on the leafless larch; But seven feet deep the snow-wreaths sleep, And the year hath not worn to March.

John Addington Symonds.

_March_

The cock is crowing, The stream is flowing, The small birds twitter, The lake doth glitter, The green field sleeps in the sun; The oldest and youngest Are at work with the strongest; The cattle are grazing, Their heads never raising; There are forty feeding like one.

Like an army defeated The snow hath retreated, And now doth fare ill On the top of the bare hill; The ploughboy is whooping--anon--anon! There's joy on the mountains; There's life in the fountains; Small clouds are sailing, Blue sky prevailing; The rain is over and gone.

William Wordsworth.

_Nearly Ready_[A]

In the snowing and the blowing, In the cruel sleet, Little flowers begin their growing Far beneath our feet. Softly taps the Spring, and cheerly, "Darlings, are you here?" Till they answer, "We are nearly, Nearly ready, dear."

"Where is Winter, with his snowing? Tell us, Spring," they say. Then she answers, "He is going, Going on his way. Poor old Winter does not love you; But his time is past; Soon my birds shall sing above you,-- Set you free at last."

Mary Mapes Dodge.

_Spring Song_

Spring comes hither, Buds the rose; Roses wither, Sweet spring goes.

Summer soars,-- Wide-winged day; White light pours, Flies away.

Soft winds blow, Westward born; Onward go, Toward the morn.

George Eliot

FOOTNOTE:

[A] _From "Rhymes and Jingles," by Mary Mapes Dodge. By permission of Charles Scribner's Sons._

_In April_

The poplar drops beside the way Its tasselled plumes of silver-gray; The chestnut pouts its great brown buds Impatient for the laggard May.

The honeysuckles lace the wall, The hyacinths grow fair and tall; And mellow sun and pleasant wind And odorous bees are over all.

Elizabeth Akers.

_Spring_

The alder by the river Shakes out her powdery curls; The willow buds in silver For little boys and girls.

The little birds fly over, And oh, how sweet they sing! To tell the happy children That once again 'tis spring.

The gay green grass comes creeping So soft beneath their feet; The frogs begin to ripple A music clear and sweet.

And buttercups are coming, And scarlet columbine; And in the sunny meadows The dandelions shine.

And just as many daisies As their soft hands can hold The little ones may gather, All fair in white and gold.

Here blows the warm red clover, There peeps the violet blue; O happy little children, God made them all for you!

Celia Thaxter.

_The Voice of Spring_