But thou, sweet Mock-bird, art my own— My very own. And every tender, tinted tone A-tilt from out thy tune-tipped throat, To weave faint melodies, afloat, Or trail low, liquid lengths of song The dawn along— Into the roseate, fresh-waked morn— This song, dew-drenched and lilting borne, This song, that timid as a dove, Creeps in my heart—this song I love. How does my soul of song within me burn For speech to stay the falt’ring, lute-like turn That trips the silence of the silver moon Into a halting, dreamy, lingering tune; For words to catch thy glorious roundelay And coin the music of thy ecstasy. Clear, crystal-beaded melodies, unstrung— Long threaded pearls of song, triumphant flung— Song-storms, symphonic, silvered, sifting showers,— And through it all, the breathing orange flowers— ... O, let me softly sink to sleep ’Neath Southern skies where all the senses steep In languorous joys. Let pure, soft, balmy air Trail soothing fingers o’er my brow and hair. And let the rustle of the pine and palm Sway rhythmic measure to the peaceful calm— While floats the perfume of the orange bloom In all its richness through my moonlit room. Then, when I join the twilight, slumber throng, Come thou, sweet Mock-Bird, fill my dreams with song! —_Mary H. Flanner._ [Illustration: FREDERICK WARDE, the eminent Shakespearian tragedian, who leaves the stage, laurel-crowned, to take up the higher work of the platform. ] THE YOUTH OF SHAKESPEARE. By Frederick Warde. “By indirection, find direction out.” —_Hamlet._ The mistaken impression that prevails in the minds of many as to the social position and general conditions of the parents of Shakespeare is in a great measure responsible for the doubts that are so frequently expressed as to the authenticity of the works ascribed to that great master. It is erroneously supposed that they were in very humble circumstances, in fact, little more than peasants, and the question is frequently asked: “Is it possible that a man of such humble origin and with such limited opportunities of mental development, could have written a series of plays that indicate such universal knowledge of men and manners and display such transcendent genius?”