TO THE FAIRIES

Kindly little fairy friends,
Here I fain would make amends;
For I seek my verses through,
Find no word of thanks to you.

Many, oh, so many times
You have helped me with my rhymes;
When my tiny songs were dumb
Oft and often have you come;
Oft and often have I heard,
Sweeter than the song of bird,
Fairy voices, crystal-clear,
Very softly at my ear
(While you poised on fluttering wings)
Telling me enchanting things.
Often at the fall of night,
In the gentle, dusky light
Through my garden as I went,
To my joy and wonderment
Suddenly the air around
Blossomed into lovely sound,
And I knew that you were there
All about me everywhere.

Could I tell what I have heard,
Magic sound and magic word,
There would be a book indeed
Fit for all the world to read.
But alas!—For all my pains,
Of those sweet mysterious strains
I can only hope to catch
Here an echo, there a snatch.
Yours is any happy line,
All that's done amiss is mine.

The author's best thanks are due to the Editor and Proprietors of Punch, through whose courtesy she is able to include in this collection a number of verses which have already appeared in that paper.

PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LTD., EDINBURGH.