Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile By H. D. Rawnsley |
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| I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
| IX. |
| X. |
| XI. |
| XII. |
| XIII. |
| XIV. |
| XV. |
| XVI. |
| XVII. |
| XVIII. |
| XIX. |
| XX. |
| XXI. |
| XXII. |
| XXIII. |
| XXIV. |
| XXV. |
| XXVI. |
| XXVII. |
| XXVIII. |
| XXIX. |
| XXX. |
| XXXI. |
| XXXII. |
| XXXIII. |
| XXXIV. |
| XXXV. |
| XXXVI. |
| XXXVII. |
| XXXVIII. |
| XXXIX. |
| XL. |
| XLI. |
| XLII. |
| XLIII. |
| XLIV. |
| XLV. |
| XLVI. |
| XLVII. | XLVII A WAYSIDE BABE |
| XLVIII. |
| XLIX. |
| L. |
| LI. |
| LII. |
| LIII. |
| LIV. |
| LV. |
| LVI. |
| LVII. |
| LVIII. |
| LIX. |
| LX. |
| LXI. |
| LXII. |
| LXII. |
| LXIV. |
 | Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile |  |
98
XLVII A WAYSIDE BABE
(AT BELLIANEH)
Mother has gone to a well in the South,
To look for the camel they lost in the strife;
Who will give to her baby's mouth
A sweet warm draught of the River of Life?
To look for the camel they lost in the strife;
Who will give to her baby's mouth
A sweet warm draught of the River of Life?
Here it lies on a heap of clover,
The sycamore shades it from sun that burns,
A dog from the village watches over,
Who will feed it till Mother returns?
The sycamore shades it from sun that burns,
A dog from the village watches over,
Who will feed it till Mother returns?
By there came with a full dark breast
A woman who lost her babe this morn,
Caught up the child and tenderly pressed
Its lips to the fountain,—less forlorn,
A woman who lost her babe this morn,
Caught up the child and tenderly pressed
Its lips to the fountain,—less forlorn,
Passed with tears to her work afield;
After her came a happier mother,
Gave to the babe a bounteous yield,
And left it there to cry for another.
After her came a happier mother,
Gave to the babe a bounteous yield,
And left it there to cry for another.
99
Haggard and grey a crone limped by,
Bearing the ‘lebben’ for those who reap;
Dear babe! she said, my breasts they are dry,
But my arms can lull you back to your sleep.
Bearing the ‘lebben’ for those who reap;
Dear babe! she said, my breasts they are dry,
But my arms can lull you back to your sleep.
So there alone lay the dot of a child,
Alone with the dog in the wide, wide plain,
Woke, and crowed at the sun, and smiled,
For he knew that his mother would come again.
Alone with the dog in the wide, wide plain,
Woke, and crowed at the sun, and smiled,
For he knew that his mother would come again.
And the sun sank down, and the purple mist
Swam up from the Nile, but the dog watched over;
And the mother leapt down from her camel, and kissed
Her boy, and went home with her babe and her clover.
Swam up from the Nile, but the dog watched over;
And the mother leapt down from her camel, and kissed
Her boy, and went home with her babe and her clover.
| Idylls and Lyrics of The Nile | |