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91
THE FAIRIES.
Do you wonder where the Fairies are,
That folks declare have vanish'd?
They're very near, yet very far,
But neither dead nor banish'd.
That folks declare have vanish'd?
They're very near, yet very far,
But neither dead nor banish'd.
They live in the same green world to-day
As in bygone ages olden,
And you enter in by the ancient way,
Through an ivory gate and golden.
As in bygone ages olden,
And you enter in by the ancient way,
Through an ivory gate and golden.
It's the land of Dreams,—oh! fair and bright,
That land, to many a rover,
But the heart must be pure and the conscience light
That would cross its threshold over.
That land, to many a rover,
But the heart must be pure and the conscience light
That would cross its threshold over.
The worldly man for its joys may yearn,
When pride and pomp embolden,
But never for him do the hinges turn
Of the ivory gate and golden.
When pride and pomp embolden,
But never for him do the hinges turn
Of the ivory gate and golden.
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While the innocent child, with eyes undim,
As the sky in it blueness o'er him,
Has only to touch the portal's rim,
And it opens wide before him,
As the sky in it blueness o'er him,
Has only to touch the portal's rim,
And it opens wide before him,
And shows him the Dreamland valleys cool,
And the hill-tops, blue and airy,
And each beautiful dell and dingle, full
Of Brownie and Gnome and Fairy.
And the hill-tops, blue and airy,
And each beautiful dell and dingle, full
Of Brownie and Gnome and Fairy.
And frolicksome Puck comes, nothing loth,
And plagues him without pity;
And Cobweb and Mustardseed and Moth,
And little Peasblossom pretty.
And plagues him without pity;
And Cobweb and Mustardseed and Moth,
And little Peasblossom pretty.
And Mab, the queen, rides up as well,
Trick'd out with elfin graces,
In a chariot made of a filbert shell,
With a spider's thread for traces.
Trick'd out with elfin graces,
In a chariot made of a filbert shell,
With a spider's thread for traces.
And a team of ladybirds, red and black,—
On each a gnat for postilion,
And two tall footmen-flies at the back,
In suits of green and vermilion.
On each a gnat for postilion,
And two tall footmen-flies at the back,
In suits of green and vermilion.
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And she says, “Good child you shall come and see
The moonbeams build my palace,
And we'll sip together the Maydew free,
From fairy cup and chalice.
The moonbeams build my palace,
And we'll sip together the Maydew free,
From fairy cup and chalice.
Then away they scamper, o'er mead and plain,
With the happy child fast holden,—
Oh! it's long ere he passes out again,
Through the ivory gate and golden.
With the happy child fast holden,—
Oh! it's long ere he passes out again,
Through the ivory gate and golden.
Now, Willie, if you'll be good and kind,
And each wrong impulse smother,
And learn your lessons with steady mind,
And love your father and mother,
And each wrong impulse smother,
And learn your lessons with steady mind,
And love your father and mother,
Some night, when the sun in darkness dips,
We'll seek the Dreamland olden,
And you shall touch, with your finger tips,
The ivory gate and golden.
We'll seek the Dreamland olden,
And you shall touch, with your finger tips,
The ivory gate and golden.
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