XII. THE LESSON OF THE MASTER 276 Adela, Adela, Adela Chart XIII. THE CONSECRATION OF BRAILLE 276 I was a barren tree before XIV. SONG 277 Light foot and tight foot A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES _TO ALISON CUNNINGHAM FROM HER BOY_ _For the long nights you lay awake And watched for my unworthy sake: For your most comfortable hand That led me through the uneven land: For all the story-books you read: For all the pains you comforted: For all you pitied, all you bore, In sad and happy days of yore:-- My second Mother, my first Wife, The angel of my infant life-- From the sick child, now well and old, Take, nurse, the little book you hold!_ _And grant it, Heaven, that all who read May find as dear a nurse at need, And every child who lists my rhyme, In the bright, fireside, nursery clime, May hear it in as kind a voice As made my childish days rejoice!_ _R. L. S._ A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES I BED IN SUMMER In winter I get up at night And dress by yellow candle-light. In summer, quite the other way,-- I have to go to bed by day. I have to go to bed and see The birds still hopping on the tree, Or hear the grown-up people's feet Still going past me in the street. And does it not seem hard to you, When all the sky is clear and blue, And I should like so much to play, To have to go to bed by day? II A THOUGHT It is very nice to think The world is full of meat and drink, With little children saying grace In every Christian kind of place. III AT THE SEA-SIDE When I was down beside the sea, A wooden spade they gave to me To dig the sandy shore. My holes were empty like a cup, In every hole the sea came up, Till it could come no more. IV YOUNG NIGHT THOUGHT All night long, and every night, When my mamma puts out the light, I see the people marching by, As plain as day, before my eye. Armies and emperors and kings, All carrying different kinds of things, And marching in so grand a way, You never saw the like by day. So fine a show was never seen At the great circus on the green; For every kind of beast and man Is marching in that caravan. At first they move a little slow, But still the faster on they go, And still beside them close I keep Until we reach the town of Sleep. V WHOLE DUTY OF CHILDREN A child should always say what's true, And speak when he is spoken to, And behave mannerly at table: At least as far as he is able. VI RAIN The rain is raining all around, It falls on field and tree, It rains on the umbrellas here, And on the ships at sea. VII PIRATE STORY