 | Snow-berries. A book for young folks |  |
ELIJAH AND I.
The house that you see underneath the great pine,
With walls that are painted and doors that are fine,
And meadows and wheat-fields about it, is mine.
With walls that are painted and doors that are fine,
And meadows and wheat-fields about it, is mine.
90
On the stony side-hill of the woodland close by,
In a house that is not half so wide nor so high,
Elijah, my miller, lives, richer than I.
In a house that is not half so wide nor so high,
Elijah, my miller, lives, richer than I.
When I go to the town to pay tax on my land,
He sits by the chimney, his book in his hand,
And merry of heart as if money were sand.
He sits by the chimney, his book in his hand,
And merry of heart as if money were sand.
Of the meadows about him he owns not a rood,
No stone of the brookside, no stick of the wood,
Yet ne'er lacked Elijah for clothing or food.
No stone of the brookside, no stick of the wood,
Yet ne'er lacked Elijah for clothing or food.
'T is good in his blue eyes the twinkle to see;
That the mill goes awry never troubles his glee;
'T is I that must pay for the mending,—not he.
That the mill goes awry never troubles his glee;
'T is I that must pay for the mending,—not he.
He laughs while I frown, and he sings while I sigh,
The pleasant love-ditties of days that are by;
So Elijah, my miller, is richer than I.
The pleasant love-ditties of days that are by;
So Elijah, my miller, is richer than I.
| Snow-berries. A book for young folks | |