FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   746   747   748   749   750   751   752   753   754   755   756   757   758   759   760   761   762   763   764   765   766   767   768   769   770  
771   772   773   774   775   776   777   778   779   780   781   782   783   784   785   786   787   788   789   790   791   792   793   794   795   >>   >|  
ll its flowers, And gone the Summer's pomp and show And Autumn in his leafless bowers Is waiting for the Winter's snow. "I said to Earth, so cold and gray, 'An emblem of myself thou art:' 'Not so,' the earth did seem to say, 'For Spring shall warm my frozen heart. "'I soothe my wintry sleep with dreams Of warmer sun and softer rain, And wait to hear the sound of streams And songs of merry birds again. "'But thou, from whom the Spring hath gone, For whom the flowers no longer blow, Who standest, blighted and forlorn, Like Autumn waiting for the snow. "'No hope is thine of sunnier hours, Thy winter shall no more depart; No Spring revive thy wasted flowers, Nor Summer warm thy frozen heart.'" Doctor Clark, on hearing this read, told Rebecca she need not take its melancholy to heart, for he could assure her that there was no danger of his friend's acting on her account the sad part of the lover in the old song of Barbara Allen. As a medical man, he could safely warrant him to be heart-whole; and the company could bear him witness, that the poet himself seemed very little like the despairing one depicted in his verses. The Indian Simon calling this forenoon, Rebecca and I went into the kitchen to see him. He looks fierce and cruel, but he thanked Madain Saltonstall for her gifts of food and clothing, and, giving her in return a little basket wrought of curiously stained stuff, he told her that if there were more like her, his heart would not be so bitter. I ventured to ask him why he felt thus; whereupon he drew himself up, and, sweeping about him with his arms, said: "This all Indian land. The Great Spirit made it for Indians. He made the great river for them, and birch-trees to make their canoes of. All the fish in the ponds, and all the pigeons and deer and squirrels he made for Indians. He made land for white men too; but they left it, and took Indian's land, because it was better. My father was a chief; he had plenty meat and corn in his wigwam. But Simon is a dog. When they fight Eastern Indians, I try to live in peace; but they say, Simon, you rogue, you no go into woods to hunt; you keep at home. So when squaw
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   746   747   748   749   750   751   752   753   754   755   756   757   758   759   760   761   762   763   764   765   766   767   768   769   770  
771   772   773   774   775   776   777   778   779   780   781   782   783   784   785   786   787   788   789   790   791   792   793   794   795   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Spring

 

Indians

 
flowers
 

Indian

 

frozen

 
Summer
 

waiting

 

Rebecca

 
Autumn
 

sweeping


Saltonstall

 

Madain

 

clothing

 

giving

 
thanked
 

kitchen

 

fierce

 

return

 

basket

 

bitter


ventured

 

wrought

 

curiously

 

stained

 

canoes

 

wigwam

 

Eastern

 

father

 

plenty

 
Spirit

squirrels

 

pigeons

 

Barbara

 
streams
 
warmer
 
softer
 

blighted

 

forlorn

 
standest
 

longer


dreams

 
Winter
 
bowers
 
leafless
 

emblem

 

soothe

 
wintry
 

sunnier

 

safely

 

warrant