Ouphe and goblin! imp and sprite!
Elf of eve! and starry Fay!

Ye that love the moon's soft light,
Hither, hither, wend your way;
Twine ye in jocund ring,

Sing and trip it merrily,

Hand to hand, and wing to wing,
Round the wild witch-hazel tree.

Hail the wanderer again,

With dance and song, and lute and lyre, Pure his wing and strong his chain,

And doubly bright his fairy fire.

Twine ye in an airy round,

Brush the dew and print the lea;
Skip and gambol, hop and bound,
Round the wild witch-hazel tree.

The beetle guards our holy ground,
He flies about the haunted place,
And if mortal there be found,

He hums in his ears and flaps his face;
The leaf-harp sounds our roundelay,
The owlet's eyes our lanterns be;
Thus we sing, and dance, and play,
Round the wild witch-hazel tree.

But hark! from tower on tree-top high,
The sentry-elf his call has made,
A streak is in the western sky,

Shapes of moonlight! flit and fade!
The hill-tops gleam in morning's spring,
The skylark shakes his dappled wing,
The day-glimpse glimmers on the lawn,
The cock has crowed, and the Fays are gone.

THROUGH THE LOOKING

GLASS

:

THROUGH THE LOOKING
GLASS

AND WHAT ALICE FOUND THERE

Lewis Carroll

INTRODUCTION

Child of the pure unclouded brow
And dreaming eyes of wonder!
Though time be fleet, and I and thou
Are half a life asunder,

Thy loving smile will surely hail
The love-gift of a fairy-tale.

I have not seen thy sunny face,
Nor heard thy silver laughter;
No thought of me shall find a place
In thy young life's hereafter-
Enough that now thou wilt not fail
To listen to my fairy-tale.

A tale begun in other days,

When summer suns were glowingA simple chime, that served to time The rhythm of our rowing

Whose echoes live in memory yet,

Though envious years would say, "forget."