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[Illustration]

[Illustration: A CHILD'S GARDEN OF VERSES]

[Illustration: ROBERT LOVIS STEVENSON]

  EDINBVRGH.   VAILIMA
  1850                                                                1894

[Illustration]


  A CHILD'S
  GARDEN OF
  VERSES


  BY ROBERT
  LOVIS
  STEVENSON

  ILLVSTRATED--BY
  CHARLES
  ROBINSON.

  NEW YORK:
  CHARLES SCRIBNER'S
  SONS

  LONDON:
  IOHN LANE.

  1895

  _Copyright 1895, by Charles Scribner's Sons_

_All rights reserved_

[Illustration]



  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._




CONTENTS


  _Bed in Summer_                                                 _Page_ 3

  _A Thought_                                                            5

  _At the Seaside_                                                       6

  _Young Night Thought_                                                  7

  _Whole Duty of Children_                                               9

  _Rain_                                                                10

  _Pirate Story_                                                        11

  _Foreign Lands_                                                       13

  _Windy Nights_                                                        15

  _Travel_                                                              17

  _Singing_                                                             20

  _Looking Forward_                                                     21

  _A Good Play_                                                         22

  _Where Go the Boats?_                                                 24

  _Auntie's Skirts_                                              _Page_ 26

  _The Land of Counterpane_                                             27

  _The Land of Nod_                                                     29

  _My Shadow_                                                           32

  _System_                                                              34

  _A Good Boy_                                                          36

  _Escape at Bedtime_                                                   38

  _Marching Song_                                                       40

  _The Cow_                                                             42

  _Happy Thought_                                                       44

  _The Wind_                                                            45

  _Keepsake Mill_                                                       47

  _Good and Bad Children_                                               49

  _Foreign Children_                                                    51

  _The Sun's Travels_                                                   53

  _The Lamplighter_                                                     55

  _My Bed is a Boat_                                                    57

  _The Moon_                                                            59

  _The Swing_                                                           62

  _Time to Rise_                                                        64

  _Looking-Glass River_                                                 65

  _Fairy Bread_                                                         67

  _From a Railway Carriage_                                             68

  _Winter-Time_                                                         70

  _The Hayloft_                                                         72

  _Farewell to the Farm_                                                74

  _North-West Passage_

  1. _Good Night_                                                _Page_ 76

  2. _Shadow March_                                                     77

  3. _In Port_                                                          78

  [Illustration]

  _THE CHILD ALONE_

  _The Unseen Playmate_                                                 81

  _My Ship and I_                                                       83

  _My Kingdom_                                                          85

  _Picture Books in Winter_                                             87

  _My Treasures_                                                        89

  _Block City_                                                          91

  _The Land of Story-Books_                                             93

  _Armies in the Fire_                                                  95

  _The Little Land_                                                     97

  [Illustration]

  _GARDEN DAYS_

  _Night and Day_                                               _Page_ 103

  _Nest Eggs_                                                          107

  _The Flowers_                                                        110

  _Summer Sun_                                                         112

  _The Dumb Soldier_                                                   114

  _Autumn Fires_                                                       117

  _The Gardener_                                                       119

  _Historical Associations_                                            121

  [Illustration]

  _ENVOYS_

  _To Willie and Henrietta_                                            125

  _To my Mother_                                                       127

  _To Auntie_                                                          128

  _To Minnie_                                                          129

  _To my Name-Child_                                                   133

  _To any Reader_                                                      136

[Illustration]

  _A CHILD'S
  GARDEN of
  Verses_

_Copyright 1895, by Charles Scribner's Sons_

[Illustration]




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.

[Illustration]

    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?

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




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.

[Illustration]




At The Seaside.


    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.

[Illustration]




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.

[Illustration]

    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.

[Illustration: THE TOWN OF SLEEP]

[Illustration]




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.

[Illustration]




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.

[Illustration]




PIRATE STORY


    Three of us afloat in the meadow by the swing,
      Three of us aboard in the basket on the lea.
    Winds are in the air, they are blowing in the spring,
      And waves are on the meadow like the waves there are at sea.

    Where shall we adventure to-day that we're afloat,
      Wary of the weather and steering by a star?
    Shall it be to Africa, a-steering of the boat,
      To Providence, or Babylon, or off to Malabar?

    Hi! but here's a squadron a-rowing on the sea--
      Cattle on the meadow a-charging with a roar!
    Quick, and we'll escape them, they're as mad as they can be,
      The wicket is the harbour and the garden the shore.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




FOREIGN LANDS


    Up into the cherry tree
    Who should climb but little me?
    I held the trunk with both my hands
    And looked abroad on foreign lands.

    I saw the next door garden lie,
    Adorned with flowers before my eye,
    And many pleasant places more
    That I had never seen before.

    I saw the dimpling river pass
    And be the sky's blue looking-glass;
    The dusty roads go up and down
    With people tramping in to town.

    If I could find a higher tree
    Farther and farther I should see,
    To where the grown-up river slips
    Into the sea among the ships,

    To where the roads on either hand
    Lead onward into fairy land,
    Where all the children dine at five,
    And all the playthings come alive.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




WINDY NIGHTS


    Whenever the moon and stars are set,
      Whenever the wind is high,
    All night long in the dark and wet,
      A man goes riding by.
    Late in the night when the fires are out,
    Why does he gallop and gallop about?

    Whenever the trees are crying aloud,
      And ships are tossed at sea,
    By, on the highway, low and loud,
      By at the gallop goes he;
    By at the gallop he goes, and then
    By he comes back at the gallop again.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




TRAVELS


    I should like to rise and go
    Where the golden apples grow;--
    Where below another sky
    Parrot islands anchored lie,
    And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
    Lonely Crusoes building boats;--
    Where in sunshine reaching out
    Eastern cities, miles about,
    Are with mosque and minaret
    Among sandy gardens set,
    And the rich goods from near and far
    Hang for sale in the bazaar;
    Where the Great Wall round China goes,
    And on one side the desert blows,
    And with bell and voice and drum,
    Cities on the other hum;--
    Where are forests, hot as fire,
    Wide as England, tall as a spire,
    Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
    And the <DW64> hunters' huts;--
    Where the knotty crocodile
    Lies and blinks in the Nile,
    And the red flamingo flies
    Hunting fish before his eyes;--
    Where in jungles near and far,
    Man-devouring tigers are,
    Lying close and giving ear
    Lest the hunt be drawing near,
    Or a comer-by be seen
    Swinging in a palanquin:--
    Where among the desert sands
    Some deserted city stands,
    All its children, sweep and prince.
    Grown to manhood ages since,
    Not a foot in street or house,
    Not a stir of child or mouse,
    And when kindly falls the night,
    In all the town no spark of light.
    There I'll come when I'm a man
    With a camel caravan;
    Light a fire in the gloom
    Of some dusty dining-room;
    See the pictures on the walls,
    Heroes, fights and festivals;
    And in a corner find the toys
    Of the old Egyptian boys.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




SINGING


    Of speckled eggs the birdie sings
      And nests among the trees;
    The sailor sings of ropes and things
      In ships upon the seas.

    The children sing in far Japan,
      The children sing in Spain;
    The organ with the organ man
      Is singing in the rain.

[Illustration: OF SPECKLED EGGS THE BIRDIE SINGS.]

[Illustration]




LOOKING FORWARD


    When I am grown to man's estate
      I shall be very proud and great,
    And tell the other girls and boys
      Not to meddle with my toys.

[Illustration]




A GOOD PLAY.


    We built a ship upon the stairs
    All made of the back-bedroom chairs,
    And filled it full of sofa pillows
    To go a-sailing on the billows.

    We took a saw and several nails,
    And water in the nursery pails;
    And Tom said, 'Let us also take
    An apple and a slice of cake;'--
    Which was enough for Tom and me
    To go a-sailing on, till tea.

    We sailed along for days and days,
    And had the very best of plays;
    But Tom fell out and hurt his knee,
    So there was no one left but me.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




WHERE GO THE BOATS?


    Dark brown is the river,
      Golden is the sand.
    It flows along for ever,
      With trees on either hand.

    Green leaves a-floating,
      Castles of the foam,
    Boats of mine a-boating--
      Where will all come home?

    On goes the river
      And out past the mill,
    Away down the valley,
      Away down the hill.

    Away down the river,
      A hundred miles or more,
    Other little children
      Shall bring my boats ashore.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




AUNTIE'S SKIRTS


    Whenever Auntie moves around,
    Her dresses make a curious sound,
    They trail behind her up the floor,
    And trundle after through the door.

[Illustration]




THE LAND OF COUNTERPANE.


    When I was sick and lay a-bed,
    I had two pillows at my head,
    And all my toys beside me lay
    To keep me happy all the day.

    And sometimes for an hour or so
    I watched my leaden soldiers go,
    With different uniforms and drills,
    Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

    And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
    All up and down among the sheets;
    Or brought my trees and houses out,
    And planted cities all about.

    I was the giant great and still
    That sits upon the pillow-hill,
    And sees before him, dale and plain,
    The pleasant land of counterpane.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




THE LAND OF NOD


    From breakfast on through all the day
    At home among my friends I stay;
    But every night I go abroad
    Afar into the land of Nod.

    All by myself I have to go,
    With none to tell me what to do--
    All alone beside the streams
    And up the mountain-sides of dreams.

[Illustration: "Up the mountain sides of dreams."]

    The strangest things are there for me,
    Both things to eat and things to see,
    And many frightening sights abroad
    Till morning in the land of Nod.

    Try as I like to find the way,
    I never can get back by day,
    Nor can remember plain and clear
    The curious music that I hear.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




MY SHADOW


    I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
    And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
    He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
    And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

    The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow--
    Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
    For he sometimes shoots up taller, like an india-rubber ball,
    And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

    He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
    And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
    He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;
    I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

    One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
    I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
    But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
    Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.


[Illustration]

[Illustration]




SYSTEM


    Every night my prayers I say,
    And get my dinner every day;
    And every day that I've been good,
    I get an orange after food.

    The child that is not clean and neat.
    With lots of toys and things to eat,
    He is a naughty child, I'm sure--
    Or else his dear papa is poor.

[Illustration]

[Illustration]




A GOOD BOY


    I woke before the morning, I was happy all the day,
    I never said an ugly word, but smiled and stuck to play.

    And now at last the sun is going down behind the wood,
    And I am very happy, for I know that I've been good.

    My bed is waiting cool and fresh, with linen smooth and fair,
    And I must off to sleepsin-by, and not forget my prayer.

    I know that, till to-morrow I shall see the sun arise,
    No ugly dream shall fright my mind, no ugly sight my eyes,

    But slumber hold me tightly till I waken in the dawn,
    And hear the thrushes singing in the lilacs round the lawn.

[Illustration: AND NOT FORGET MY PRAYER]

[Illustration]




ESCAPE AT BEDTIME


    The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out
      Through the blinds and the windows and bars;
    And high overhead and all moving about,
      There were thousands of millions of stars.
    There ne'er were such thousands of leaves on a tree,
      Nor of people in church or the Park,
    As the crowds of the stars that looked down upon me,
      And that glittered and winked in the dark.

[Illustration]

    The Dog, and the