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And see how the depths of those waters dark Are alive with the dragon, the snake, and the shark.

"There, there they cluster'd in grisly swarms,
Curl'd up into many a hideous ball;
The sepia stretching its horrible arms,

And the shapeless hammer, I saw them all;
And the loathsome dog-fish with threatening teeth,
Hyæna so fierce of the seas beneath.

"In horrible consciousness there I stay'd, One soul with feeling and thought endued, 'Mid monsters, afar from all earthly aid, Alone in that ghastly solitude!

Far, far from the sound of a human tone,

In depths which the sea-snake hath call'd her own.

"And shuddering I thought, 'they are creeping

more near,

They uncoil, and they straighten their hundred joints

They will clutch me soon!'-in the frenzy of fear
I loosed my hold on those coral points.

I was seized by the whirling stream once more,
But it saved me now, for it rose to shore!"

The monarch he marvell'd that tale to hear,
And he spake "The cup is thine;
Now win me this ring of jewels clear-

See how its gleaming diamonds shine!

Go down yet again, and bring word to me,

What thou find'st in the uttermost depths of the

sea!"

His daughter she listen'd in grief and shame,
And with winning tones she spake :

"O father, enough of this terrible game!

Think what he hath dared-at thy word-for thy sake!

Or if thou yet longest with quenchless desire, Twice shall these knights be shamed by a squire ?"

Then quickly the monarch grasp'd the cup,
And he hurl'd it down below-

"If once again thou canst bear it up,

The first of my knights I will dub thee now; And thou shalt achieve as thy bride this day The maid who for thee doth so sweetly pray!"

Through his spirit no earthly fire is rushing,
And fearlessly sparkle his eyes,

For he sees how that fair young face is blushing,
He sees how it droops as the bright tint dies-
Burning so costly a prize to win,

For life and for death he plunges in!

Again that groaning ?-that low deep sound,
Which heralds the thunder-clash;

With loving looks they are gathering round,

It cometh, it cometh, the wave's wild crash! Backwards and forwards it rushes and roars, But, alas! the youth no wave restores!

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79

The Happiest Land.

THERE sat one day in quiet,
By an ale-house on the Rhine,
Four hale and hearty fellows,
And drank the precious wine.

The landlord's daughter fill'd their cups,
Around the rustic board;
Then sat they all so calm and still,

And spake not one rude word.

But when the maid departed,
A Swabian raised his hand,

And cried, all hot and flush'd with wine, "Long live the Swabian land!

"The greatest kingdom upon earth
Cannot with that compare,
With all the stout and hardy men,

And the nut-brown maidens there."

"Ha!" cried a Saxon, laughing,

And dash'd his beard with wine;

"I had rather live in Lapland,

Than that Swabian land of thine!

"The goodliest land on all this earth, It is the Saxon land!

There have I as many maidens

As fingers on this hand!"

"Hold your tongues both Swabian and Saxon!"

A bold Bohemian cries;

"If there's a heaven upon this earth,

In Bohemia it lies!

"There the tailor blows the flute,
And the cobbler blows the horn,
And the miner blows the bugle
O'er mountain-gorge and bourn."

And then the landlord's daughter
Up to heaven raised her hand,
And said, "Ye may no more contend,—
There lies the happiest land!"

LONGFELLOW, AFTER THE GERMAN.

Brown and Jones.

As Brown and Jones one day walk'd out
To view the country round,

In merry mood they chatting stood,
Hard by the village pound.
Jones from his poke a shilling took,
And said, "I'll bet a penny,
In a short space within this place,
I'll make this piece a guinea."

Upon the ground, within the pound,
The shilling soon was thrown:

"Behold," said Jones, "the thing's made out,

For there is one pound one."

"I wonder not," says Brown, "that thought
Should in your head be found,

Since that's the way your debts you pay,
One shilling in the pound."

The Toy of the Giant's Child.

BURG NIEDECK is a mountain in Alsace, high and strong,

Where once a noble castle stood-the giants held

it long;

Its very ruins now are lost, its site is waste and

lone,

And if ye seek for giants there, they are all dead and gone.

The giant's daughter once came forth the castlegate before,

And play'd, with all a child's delight, beside her father's door;

Then sauntering down the precipice, the girl did gladly go,

To see, perchance, how matters went in the little world below.

With few and easy steps she pass'd the mountain and the wood;

At length near Haslach, at the place where mankind dwelt, she stood;

G

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