There stood upon the broad high-road,
That o'er a moorland lay,
A widow's low and lone abode,
And close beside the way.
,
Upon its face the dwelling bore
The signs of times within,
That seemed to say but little more
Than, "_Better days have been!_"
,
Behind it was the sedgy fen,
With alder, brake, and brush;
And less to serve the wants of men,
Than of the jay and thrush.
,
And these would sometimes come, and cheer
The widow with a song,
To let her feel a neighbor near,
And wing an hour along.
,
A pond, supplied by hidden springs,
With lilies bordered round,
Was found among the richest things,
That blessed the widow's ground.
,
She had, besides, a gentle brook,
That wound the meadow through,
Which from the pond its being took,
And had its treasures too.
,
Her eldest orphan was a son;
For, children she had three;
She called him, though a little one,
Her hope for days to be.
,
And well he might be reckoned so,
If, from the tender shoot,
We know the way the branch will grow;
Or, by the flower, the fruit.
,
His tongue was true, his mind was bright;
His temper smooth and mild:
He was--the parent's chief delight--
A good and pleasant child.
,
He 'd gather chips and sticks of wood,
The winter fire to make;
And help his mother dress their food,
Or tend the baking cake.
,
In summer time he 'd kindly lead
His little sisters out,
To pick wild berries on the mead,
And fish the brook for trout.
,
He stirred his thoughts for ways to earn
Some little gain; and hence,
Contrived the silver pond to turn,
In part, to silver pence.
,
He found the lilies blooming there
So spicy sweet to smell,
And to the eye so pure and fair,
He plucked them up to sell.
,
He could not to the market go:
He had too young a head,
The distant city's ways to know;
The route he could not tread.
,
But, when the coming coach-wheels rolled,
To pass his humble cot,
His bunch of lilies to be sold
Was ready on the spot.
,
He 'd stand beside the way, and hold
His treasures up to show,
That looked like yellow stars of gold
Just set in leaves of snow.
,
"O buy my lilies!" he would say;
"You 'll find them new and sweet:
So fresh from out the
That o'er a moorland lay,
A widow's low and lone abode,
And close beside the way.
,
Upon its face the dwelling bore
The signs of times within,
That seemed to say but little more
Than, "_Better days have been!_"
,
Behind it was the sedgy fen,
With alder, brake, and brush;
And less to serve the wants of men,
Than of the jay and thrush.
,
And these would sometimes come, and cheer
The widow with a song,
To let her feel a neighbor near,
And wing an hour along.
,
A pond, supplied by hidden springs,
With lilies bordered round,
Was found among the richest things,
That blessed the widow's ground.
,
She had, besides, a gentle brook,
That wound the meadow through,
Which from the pond its being took,
And had its treasures too.
,
Her eldest orphan was a son;
For, children she had three;
She called him, though a little one,
Her hope for days to be.
,
And well he might be reckoned so,
If, from the tender shoot,
We know the way the branch will grow;
Or, by the flower, the fruit.
,
His tongue was true, his mind was bright;
His temper smooth and mild:
He was--the parent's chief delight--
A good and pleasant child.
,
He 'd gather chips and sticks of wood,
The winter fire to make;
And help his mother dress their food,
Or tend the baking cake.
,
In summer time he 'd kindly lead
His little sisters out,
To pick wild berries on the mead,
And fish the brook for trout.
,
He stirred his thoughts for ways to earn
Some little gain; and hence,
Contrived the silver pond to turn,
In part, to silver pence.
,
He found the lilies blooming there
So spicy sweet to smell,
And to the eye so pure and fair,
He plucked them up to sell.
,
He could not to the market go:
He had too young a head,
The distant city's ways to know;
The route he could not tread.
,
But, when the coming coach-wheels rolled,
To pass his humble cot,
His bunch of lilies to be sold
Was ready on the spot.
,
He 'd stand beside the way, and hold
His treasures up to show,
That looked like yellow stars of gold
Just set in leaves of snow.
,
"O buy my lilies!" he would say;
"You 'll find them new and sweet:
So fresh from out the