Helena clasped her hands round her knees, and, lifting up her face to the stars, began to sing in a clear, sweet voice, which, though entirely untrained, had a trill in it like the liquid notes of a bird.

I.

“Wild roses red as dawn

When nymphs awaken,

Frail lilies white and wan

As love forsaken.

With primrose pale and daffodil,

Forget-me-nots from hidden rill,

And blossoms shaken

By wintry breezes thin and chill,