For the fatherless companion

Of the herds to eat his luncheon,

Eat the good things from his basket!

Kullerwoinen heard the songster,
Looked upon the sun's long shadow,
Straightway spake the words that follow:
"True the singing of the song-bird,
It is time indeed for feasting,
Time to eat my basket-dinner."
Thereupon young Kullerwoinen
Called his herd to rest in safety,
Sat upon a grassy hillock,

Took his basket from his shoulders,
Took therefrom the arid oat-loaf,
Turned it over in his fingers,
Carefully the loaf inspected,

Spake these words of ancient wisdom:

66

Many loaves are fine to look on, On the outside seem delicious,

On the inside chaff and tan-bark!"

Then the shepherd, Kullerwoinen,
Drew his knife to cut his oat-loaf,
Cut the hard and arid biscuit;
Cuts against a stone imprisoned,
Well imbedded in its centre,
Breaks his ancient knife to pieces.
When the shepherd youth, Kullervo,
Saw his magic knife had broken,
Weeping sore, he spake as follows:

"This the blade that I hold sacred,
This the one thing that I honor,
Relic of my mother's people!
On the stone within this oat-loaf,
On this cheat-cake of the hostess,
I my precious knife have broken.
How shall I repay this insult,
How avenge this woman's malice?"

From a tree the raven answered:
"Take a birch-rod from the valley,
Drive thy herds across the lowlands
Through the quicksands of the marshes;
Sing the forest wolves together,

Sing the bears down from the mountains,
Drive them home like spotted cattle,
Drive them to thy master's milk yards;
Thus wilt thou repay the hostess
For her malice and derision."

Ilmarinen's wife and hostess
Long had waited for the coming
Of her herd with Kullerwoinen,
Waited for the milk at evening,
Waited for the new-made butter,
Heard the footsteps on the cow-path.
Then the wife of Ilmarinen
Built a field-fire in the passage,
Went to milk her cows awaiting,

Looked upon her herd in wonder,
Spake these words of happy greeting:

"Beautiful, my herd of cattle,
Glistening like the skins of lynxes,
Hair as soft as fur of ermine,
Peaceful waiting for the milkpail!'

On the milkstool sits the hostess,
Milks one moment, then a second,
Then a third time milks and ceases,
When the bloody wolves disguising,
Quick attack the hostess milking,
And the bears lend their assistance,
Tear and mutilate her body

With their teeth and sharpened fingers.

Kullervo, the cruel wizard,

Thus repaid the wicked hostess,

Thus repaid her evil treatment.

ON A CAT KILLED WHILE ATTEMPTING TO

ROB A DOVE-COTE.

FROM THE PERSIAN OF IBU ALALOF ALWAHARWANY.

JOHN D. CARLYLE.

TRANSLATED BY

POOR Puss is gone! - 'Tis Fate's decree:
Yet I must still her loss deplore,

For dearer than a child was she,
And ne'er shall I behold her more.

With many a sad presaging tear,

This morn I saw her steal away,

While she went on without a fear

Except that she should miss her prey.

I saw her to the dove-house climb;

With cautious feet and slow she stept, Resolved to balance loss of time

By eating faster than she crept.

Her subtle foes were on the watch,

And marked her course with fury fraught;
And while she hoped the birds to catch,
An arrow's point the huntress caught.

In fancy she had got them all,

And drunk their blood and sucked their breath; Alas! she only got a fall,

And only drank the draught of death.

Why, why was pigeons' flesh so nice,

That thoughtless cats should lose it thus ?
Hadst thou but lived on rats and mice,
Thou hadst been living still, poor Puss!

Cursed be the taste, howe'er refined,
That prompts us for such joys to wish;
And cursed the dainty where we find
Destruction lurking in the dish.

ELDORADO.

EDGAR ALLAN POE.

GAILY bedight,

A gallant knight

In sunshine and in shadow

Had journeyed long,
Singing a song,

In search of Eldorado.

But he grew old

This knight so bold

And o'er his heart a shadow

Fell, as he found

No spot of ground

That looked like Eldorado.

And as his strength
Failed him at length,
He met a pilgrim shadow:
"Shadow," said he,

"Where can it be

This land of Eldorado?"

"Over the mountains

Of the moon,

Down the Valley of the Shadow

Ride, boldly ride,"

The shade replied,

"If you seek for Eldorado!"

FIFTY AND FIFTEEN.

ANONYMOUS.

WITH gradual gleam the day was dawning, Some lingering stars were seen,

When swung the garden gate behind us,— He fifty, I fifteen.