Wynken and Blynken are two little eyes, And Nod is a little head, And the wooden shoe that sailed the skies Is a wee one’s trundle-bed; So shut your eyes while mother sings Of wonderful sights that be, And you shall see the beautiful things As you rock in the misty sea, Where the old shoe rocked the fishermen three―― Wynken, Blynken, And Nod. ¹ From “A Little Book of Western Verse” (1889). Copyrighted by Eugene Field, and published by Charles Scribner’s Sons. * * * * * THE NORSE LULLABY.¹ FROM “A LITTLE BOOK OF WESTERN VERSE” (1889). THE sky is dark and the hills are white As the storm-king speeds from the north to-night, And this is the song the storm-king sings, As over the world his cloak he flings: “Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep!” He rustles his wings and gruffly sings: “Sleep, little one, sleep!” On yonder mountain-side a vine Clings at the foot of a mother pine; The tree bends over the trembling thing And only the vine can hear her sing: “Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep―― What shall you fear when I am here? Sleep, little one, sleep.” The king may sing in his bitter flight, The tree may croon to the vine to-night, But the little snowflake at my breast Liketh the song I sing the best: “Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep; Weary thou art, anext my heart, Sleep, little one, sleep.” ¹ Copyright, Charles Scribner’s Sons. Illustration: (‡ decoration) WILL CARLETON. AUTHOR OF “BETSY AND I ARE OUT.” FEW writers of homely verse have been more esteemed than Will Carleton. His poems are to be found in almost every book of selections for popular reading. They are well adapted to recitation and are favorites with general audiences. With few exceptions they are portraitures of the humorous side of rural life and frontier scenes; but they are executed with a vividness and truth to nature that does credit to the author and insures their preservation as faithful portraits of social conditions and frontier scenes and provincialisms which the advance of education is fast relegating to the past.