The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition, Vol. 14

by Robert Louis Stevenson

VOLUME FOURTEEN

LONDON: PUBLISHED BY CHATTO AND
WINDUS: IN ASSOCIATION WITH CASSELL
AND COMPANY LIMITED: WILLIAM
HEINEMANN: AND LONGMANS GREEN
AND COMPANY MDCCCCXII

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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CONTENTS

A CHILD’S GARDEN OF VERSES

		PAGE
I.	Bed in Summer In winter I get up at night	[3]
II.	A Thought It is very nice to think	[3]
III.	At the Sea-side When I was down beside the sea	[4]
IV.	Young Night Thought All night long, and every night	[4]
V.	Whole Duty of Children A child should always say what’s true	[5]
VI.	Rain The rain is raining all around	[5]
VII.	Pirate Story Three of us afloat in the meadow by the swing	[5]
VIII.	Foreign Lands Up into the cherry-tree	[6]
IX.	Windy Nights Whenever the moon and stars are set	[7]
X.	Travel I should like to rise and go	[7]
XI.	Singing Of speckled eggs the birdie sings	[9]
XII.	Looking Forward When I am grown to man’s estate	[9]
XIII.	A Good Play We built a ship upon the stairs	[9]
XIV.	Where go the Boats? Dark brown is the river	[10]
XV.	Auntie’s Skirts Whenever Auntie moves around	[11]
XVI.	The Land of Counterpane When I was sick and lay a-bed	[11]
XVII.	The Land of Nod From breakfast on all through the day	[12]
XVIII.	My Shadow I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me	[12]
XIX.	System Every night my prayers I say	[13]
XX.	A Good Boy I woke before the morning, I was happy all the day	[14]
XXI.	Escape at Bedtime The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out	[14]
XXII.	Marching Song Bring the comb and play upon it	[15]
XXIII.	The Cow The friendly cow, all red and white	[16]
XXIV.	Happy Thought The world is so full of a number of things	[16]
XXV.	The Wind I saw you toss the kites on high	[16]
XXVI.	Keepsake Mill Over the borders, a sin without pardon	[17]
XXVII.	Good and Bad Children Children, you are very little	[18]
XXVIII.	Foreign Children Little Indian, Sioux or Crow	[19]
XXIX.	The Sun’s Travels The sun is not a-bed when I	[20]
XXX.	The Lamplighter My tea is nearly ready and the sun has left the sky	[20]
XXXI.	My Bed is a Boat My bed is like a little boat	[21]
XXXII.	The Moon The moon has a face like the clock in the hall	[22]
XXXIII.	The Swing How do you like to go up in a swing	[22]
XXXIV.	Time to Rise A birdie with a yellow bill	[23]
XXXV.	Looking-Glass River Smooth it slides upon its travel	[23]
XXXVI.	Fairy Bread Come up here, O dusty feet	[24]
XXXVII.	From a Railway Carriage Faster than fairies, faster than witches	[24]
XXXVIII.	Winter-Time Late lies the wintry sun a-bed	[25]
XXXIX.	The Hayloft Through all the pleasant meadow-side	[26]
XL.	Farewell to the Farm The coach is at the door at last	[26]
XLI.	North-West Passage	[27]
	1. Good Night When the bright lamp is carried in	[27]
	2. Shadow March All round the house is the jet-black night	[28]
	3. In Port Last, to the chamber where I lie	[28]
THE CHILD ALONE
I.	The Unseen Playmate When children are playing alone on the green	[31]
II.	My Ship and I O it’s I that am the captain of a tidy little ship	[32]
III.	My Kingdom Down by a shining water well	[32]
IV.	Picture-Books in Winter Summer fading, winter comes	[33]
V.	My Treasures These nuts, that I keep in the back of the nest	[34]
VI.	Block City What are you able to build with your blocks	[35]
VII.	The Land of Story-Books At evening when the lamp is lit	[36]
VIII.	Armies in the Fire The lamps now glitter down the street	[37]
IX.	The Little Land When at home alone I sit	[38]
GARDEN DAYS
I.	Night and Day When the golden day is done	[43]
II.	Nest Eggs Birds all the sunny day	[44]
III.	The Flowers All the names I know from nurse	[46]
IV.	Summer Sun Great is the sun, and wide he goes	[46]
V.	The Dumb Soldier When the grass was closely mown	[47]
VI.	Autumn Fires In the other gardens	[49]
VII.	The Gardener The gardener does not love to talk	[49]
VIII.	Historical Associations Dear Uncle Jim, this garden ground	[50]
ENVOYS
I.	To Willie and Henrietta If two may read aright	[55]
II.	To My Mother You too, my mother, read my rhymes	[55]
III.	To Auntie Chief of our aunts—not only I	[56]
IV.	To Minnie The red room with the giant bed	[56]
V.	To my Name-Child Some day soon this rhyming volume, if you learn with proper speed	[58]
VI.	To any Reader As from the house your mother sees	[59]
UNDERWOODS
BOOK I: IN ENGLISH
I.	Envoy Go, little book, and wish to all	[67]
II.	A Song of the Road The gauger walked with willing foot	[67]
III.	The Canoe Speaks On the great streams the ships may go	[68]
IV.	It is the season now to go	[70]
V.	The House Beautiful A naked house, a naked moor	[71]
VI.	A Visit From The Sea Far from the loud sea beaches	[72]
VII.	To a Gardener Friend, in my mountain-side demesne	[73]
VIII.	To Minnie A picture-frame for you to fill	[74]
IX.	To K. de M. A lover of the moorland bare	[74]
X.	To N. V. de G. S. The unfathomable sea, and time, and tears	[75]
XI.	To Will. H. Low Youth now flees on feathered foot	[76]
XII.	To Mrs. Will. H. Low Even in the bluest noonday of July	[77]
XIII.	To H. F. Brown I sit and wait a pair of oars	[78]
XIV.	To Andrew Lang Dear Andrew, with the brindled hair	[79]
XV.	Et tu in Arcadia vixisti (to r. a. m. s.) In ancient tales, O friend, thy spirit dwelt	[80]
XVI.	To W. E. Henley The year runs through her phases; rain and sun	[82]
XVII.	Henry James Who comes to-night? We ope the doors in vain	[83]
XVIII.	The Mirror Speaks Where the bells peal far at sea	[84]
XIX.	Katharine We see you as we see a face	[85]
XX.	To F. J. S. I read, dear friend, in your dear face	[85]
XXI.	Requiem Under the wide and starry sky	[86]
XXII.	The Celestial Surgeon If I have faltered more or less	[86]
XXIII.	Our Lady of the Snows Out of the sun, out of the blast	[87]
XXIV.	Not yet, my soul, these friendly fields desert	[89]
XXV.	It is not yours, O mother, to complain	[90]
XXVI.	The Sick Child O mother, lay your hand on my brow	[92]
XXVII.	In Memoriam F. A. S. Yet, O stricken heart, remember, O remember	[93]
XXVIII.	To my Father Peace and her huge invasion to these shores	[93]
XXIX.	In the States With half a heart I wander here	[94]
XXX.	A Portrait I am a kind of farthing dip	[95]
XXXI.	Sing clearlier, Muse, or evermore be still	[96]
XXXII.	A Camp The bed was made, the room was fit	[96]
XXXIII.	The Country of the Camisards We travelled in the print of olden wars	[96]
XXXIV.	Skerryvore For love of lovely words, and for the sake	[97]
XXXV.	Skerryvore: The Parallel Here all is sunny, and when the truant gull	[97]
XXXVI.	My house, I say. But hark to the sunny doves	[98]
XXXVII.	My body which my dungeon is	[98]
XXXVIII.	Say not of me that weakly I declined	[99]
BOOK II: IN SCOTS
I.	The Maker to Posterity Far ’yont amang the years to be	[105]
II.	Ille Terrarum Frae nirly, nippin’, Eas’lan’ breeze	[106]
III.	When aince Aprile has fairly come	[109]
IV.	A Mile an’ a Bittock A mile an’ a bittock, a mile or twa	[110]
V.	A Lowden Sabbath Morn The clinkum-clank o’ Sabbath bells	[111]
VI.	The Spaewife O, I wad like to ken—to the beggar-wife says I	[116]
VII.	The Blast—1875 It’s rainin’. Weet’s the gairden sod	[116]
VIII.	The Counterblast—1886 My bonny man, the warld, it’s true	[118]
IX.	The Counterblast Ironical It’s strange that God should fash to frame	[120]
X.	Their Laureate to an Academy Class Dinner Club Dear Thamson class, whaure’er I gang	[121]
XI.	Embro Hie Kirk The Lord Himsel’ in former days	[123]
XII.	The Scotsman’s Return from Abroad In mony a foreign pairt I’ve been	[125]
XIII.	Late In the night in bed I lay	[129]
XIV.	My Conscience! Of a’ the ills that flesh can fear	[131]
XV.	To Dr. John Brown By Lyne and Tyne, by Thames and Tees	[133]
XVI.	It’s an owercome sooth for age an’ youth	[135]
BALLADS
THE SONG OF RAHÉRO
A LEGEND OF TAHITI
I.	The Slaying of Támatéa	[139]
II.	The Venging Of Támatéa	[148]
III.	Rahéro	[159]
THE FEAST OF FAMINE
MARQUESAN MANNERS
I.	The Priest’s Vigil	[169]
II.	The Lovers	[172]
III.	The Feast	[176]
IV.	The Raid	[182]
TICONDEROGA
A LEGEND OF THE WEST HIGHLANDS
I.	The Saying of the Name	[189]
II.	The Seeking of the Name	[194]
III.	The Place of the Name	[196]
HEATHER ALE
A GALLOWAY LEGEND
	From the bonny bells of heather	[201]
CHRISTMAS AT SEA
	The sheets were frozen hard	[207]
Notes to The Song of Rahéro		[211]
Notes to The Feast of Famine		[213]
Notes to Ticonderoga		[214]
Note to Heather Ale		[215]
SONGS OF TRAVEL
I.	The Vagabond Give to me the life I love	[219]
II.	Youth and Love—I Once only by the garden gate	[220]
III.	Youth and Love—II To the heart of youth the world is a highwayside	[221]
IV.	In dreams, unhappy, I behold you stand	[221]
V.	She rested by the Broken Brook	[222]
VI.	The infinite shining heavens	[222]
VII.	Plain as the glistering planets shine	[223]
VIII.	To you, let snow and roses	[224]
IX.	Let Beauty awake in the morn from beautiful dreams	[224]
X.	I know not how it is with you	[225]
XI.	I will make you brooches and toys for your delight	[225]
XII.	We have loved of Yore Berried brake and reedy island	[226]
XIII.	Mater Triumphans Son of my woman’s body, you go, to the drum and fife	[227]
XIV.	Bright is the ring of words	[227]
XV.	In the highlands, in the country places	[228]
XVI.	Home no more home to me, whither must I wander	[229]
XVII.	Winter In rigorous hours, when down the iron lane	[230]
XVIII.	The stormy evening closes now in vain	[230]
XIX.	To Dr. Hake In the beloved hour that ushers day	[231]
XX.	To —— I knew thee strong and quiet like the hills	[232]
XXI.	The morning drum-call on my eager ear	[233]
XXII.	I have trod the upward and the downward slope	[233]
XXIII.	He hears with gladdened heart the thunder	[233]
XXIV.	Farewell, fair day and fading light	[233]
XXV.	If this were Faith God, if this were enough	[234]
XXVI.	My Wife Trusty, dusky, vivid, true	[235]
XXVII.	To the Muse Resign the rhapsody, the dream	[236]
XXVIII.	To an Island Princess Since long ago, a child at home	[237]
XXIX.	To Kalakaua The Silver Ship, my King—that was her name	[238]
XXX.	To Princess Kaiulani Forth from her land to mine she goes	[239]
XXXI.	To Mother Maryanne To see the infinite pity of this place	[240]
XXXII.	In Memoriam E. H. I knew a silver head was bright beyond compare	[240]
XXXIII.	To my Wife Long must elapse ere you behold again	[241]
XXXIV.	To my old Familiars Do you remember—can we e’er forget	[242]
XXXV.	The tropics vanish, and meseems that I	[243]
XXXVI.	To S. C. I heard the pulse of the besieging sea	[244]
XXXVII.	The House of Tembinoka Let us, who part like brothers, part like bards	[245]
XXXVIII.	The Woodman In all the grove, nor stream nor bird	[249]
XXXIX.	Tropic Rain As the single pang of the blow, when the metal is mingled well	[254]
XL.	An End of Travel Let now your soul in this substantial world	[255]
XLI.	We uncommiserate pass into the night	[255]
XLII.	Sing me a song of a lad that is gone	[256]
XLIII.	To S. R. Crockett Blows the wind to-day, and the sun and the rain are flying	[257]
XLIV.	Evensong The embers of the day are red	[257]
ADDITIONAL POEMS
I.	A Familiar Epistle Blame me not that this epistle	[261]
II.	Rondels 1. Far have you come, my lady, from the town 2. Nous n’irons plus au bois 3. Since I am sworn to live my life 4. Of his pitiable transformation	[263]
III.	Epistle to Charles Baxter Noo lyart leaves blaw ower the green	[265]
IV.	The Susquehannah and the Delaware Of where or how, I nothing know	[267]
V.	Epistle to Albert Dew-Smith Figure me to yourself, I pray	[268]
VI.	Alcaics to Horatio F. Brown Brave lads in olden musical centuries	[270]
VII.	A Lytle Jape of Tusherie The pleasant river gushes	[272]
VIII.	To Virgil and Dora Williams Here, from the forelands of the tideless sea	[273]
IX.	Burlesque Sonnet Thee, Mackintosh, artificer of light	[273]
X.	The Fine Pacific Islands The jolly English Yellowboy	[274]
XI.	Auld Reekie When chitterin’ cauld the day sall daw	[275]
XII.	The Lesson of the Master Adela, Adela, Adela Chart	[276]
XIII.	The Consecration of Braille I was a barren tree before	[276]
XIV.	Song Light foot and tight foot	[277]

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A CHILD’S