SONG OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE

Out of the hills of Habersham,

Down the valleys of Hall,
I hurry amain to reach the plain,
Run the rapid and leap the fall.
Split at the rock and together again,
Accept my bed, or narrow or wide,
And flee from folly on every side
With a lover's pain to attain the plain
Far from the hills of Habersham,
Far from the valleys of Hall.

All down the hills of Habersham,

All through the valleys of Hall,
The rushes cried "Abide, abide,'
The wilful waterweeds held me thrall,
The laving laurel turned my tide,

The ferns and the fondling grass said "Stay,"
The dewberry dipped for to work delay,
And the little reeds sighed, "Abide, abide,'

Here in the hills of Habersham,

Here in the valleys of Hall.

High o'er the hills of Habersham,

Veiling the valleys of Hall,

The hickory told me manifold

Fair tales of shade, the poplar tall

Wrought me her shadowy self to hold,

The chestnut, the oak, the walnut, the pine,
Overleaning, with flickering meaning and sign,
Said: "Pass not, so cold, these manifold,

Deep shades of the hills of Habersham,

These glades in the valleys of Hall."

And oft in the hills of Habersham,

And oft in the valleys of Hall,

The white quartz shone, and the smooth brook-stone
Did bar me of passage with friendly brawl,
And many a luminous jewel lone

Crystals clear or a-cloud with mist,

Ruby, garnet and amethyst

Made lures with the lights of steaming stone
In the clefts of the hills of Habersham,

In the beds of the valleys of Hall.

But oh, not the hills of Habersham,
And oh, not the valleys of Hall

Avail: I am fain for to water the plain.
Downward the voices of Duty call-

Downward, to toil and be mixed with the main,
The dry fields burn, and the mills are to turn,
And a myriad flowers mortally yearn,

And the lordly main from beyond the plain
Calls o'er the hills of Habersham,

Calls through the valleys of Hall.

SIDNEY LANIER.

HELPS TO STUDY

The foregoing poem, by a famous Southern poet, is remarkable for its beauty of rhythm. It suggests by its own sound the swift rush of the river down to the sea. Lanier was himself an able musician.

1. Note the abrupt, dashing sound of the opening lines. 2. . Find rhymes in the middle of the lines. What effect do they seem to you to have? 3. Try reading the first stanza very slowly, and then rather quickly, and decide which is the proper way to read it. 4. What things does the river pass on its way down the hills? 5. The peculiar expression in the seventh line of the second stanza and the third line of the last stanza is not a grammatical error; it is an old form, no longer in common use, but serving here to make the lines move more rapidly.

Tints the human countenance
With a color of romance,
And, infusing subtle heats,

Turns the sod to violets,
Thou in sunny solitudes,
Rover of the underwoods,
The green silence dost displace
With thy mellow, breezy bass.
Hot midsummer's petted crone,
Sweet to me thy drowsy tune,
Telling of countless sunny hours,
Long days, and solid banks of flowers,
Of gulfs of sweetness without bound.
In Indian wildernesses found,
Of Syrian peace, immortal leisure,
Firmest cheer, and bird-like pleasure.

Aught unsavory or unclean,

Hath my insect never seen,
But violets and bilberry bells,
Maple sap and daffodels,

Grass with green flag half-mast high,

Succory to match the sky,

Columbine with horn of honey,
Scented fern, and agrimony,
Clover, catchfly, adder's-tongue,
And brier-roses dwelt among;
All beside was unknown waste,
All was picture as he passed.

Wiser far than human seer,
Yellow-breeched philosopher!
Seeing only what is fair,
Sipping only what is sweet,
Thou dost mock at fate and care,
Leave the chaff and take the wheat.
When the fierce northwestern blast
Cools sea and land so far and fast,
Thou already slumberest deep,
Woe and want thou canst out-sleep,
Want and woe which torture us,

Thy sleep makes ridiculous.

5

10

RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

HELPS TO STUDY

1. The humblebee is, of course, the bumblebee.

How do you suppose

he got these names? 2. Note how the swing of these short lines seems to suit the subject. 3. Why is he like an "animated torrid zone "?

4. When does he come? Where is he found?

on?

5. What does he feed 6. Why does Emerson call him "yellow-breeched philosopher"? 7. How does he pass the winter?

For Study with the Glossary: Clime, subtle, Syrian peace.

For Oral and Written Composition: 1. The bumblebee's activities. 2. Finding a bee's nest. 3. The value of bees.