And when his hours are numbered, and the world THE BEAUTIFUL SNOW. H, the snow, the beautiful snow! Filling the sky and earth below: Over the housetops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet, Dancing, Flirting, Skipping along, Beautiful snow, it can do no wrong; Flying to kiss a fair lady's cheek, Beautiful snow from the heavens above, Oh, the snow, the beautiful snow! How the flakes gather and laugh as they go! Chasing, Laughing, Hurrying by, It lights on the face and it sparkles the eye; The town is alive, and its heart in a glow, THE SNOW-BIRD. In the in totes N the rosy light trills the gay swallow, The meadow lark sings in the meadow, The snowbird sings in the snow! The blue martin trills in the gable, The snowbird sings in the snow! High wheels the gray wing of the osprey, In the mist dips the wing of the robin, Chickadee ! The snowbird sings in the snow. I love the high heart of the osprey, Chickadee! Chickadee! Is that true little heart in the snow. THE HE rain-drops plash, and the dead leaves fall, The swallows gather, and twitter and call, "We must follow the summer, come one, come all, For the winter is now so cold." Just listen awhile to the wordy war, Where the ruins of Athens stand. "And every year when the brown leaves fall, I build my nest on the corniced wall, Says another, "My cozy home I fit Where on the threshold Hadjii sit, And smoke their pipes and their coffee sip, Dreaming the hours away." Another says, "I prefer the nave Of a temple of Baalbec; There my little ones lie when the palm-trees wave, And, perching near on the architrave, I fill each open beak." "Ah!" says the last, "I build my nest "In his ample neck is a niche so wide, A thousand swallows their nests can hide, They go, they go, to the river and plain, They leave me alone with the cold again, - Translated from Théophile Gautier. I WINTER BIRDS. WATCH them from the window, As yonder winter birds, And leave their tiny footprints |