LESSON 73 THE CHILDREN'S HOUR

THE CHILDREN'S HOUR

1. Between the dark and the daylight,

When the night is beginning to lower,

Comes a pause in the day's occupations [1] ,

That is known as the Children's Hour.

2. I hear in the chamber [2] above me

The patter of little feet,

The sound of a door that is opened,

And voices soft and sweet.

3. From my study I see in the lamplight,

Descending the broad hall stair,

Grave Alice and laughing Allegra,

And Edith with golden hair.

4. A whisper, and then a silence;

Yet I know by their merry eyes

They are plotting and planning together

To take me by surprise.

5. A sudden rush from the stairway,

A sudden raid from the hall,

By three doors left unguarded

They enter my castle wall!

6. They climb up into my turret [3] ,

O'er the arms and back of my chair;

If I try to escape, they surround me—

They seem to be everywhere.

7. They almost devour me with kisses,

Their arms about me entwine,

Till I think of the Bishop of Bingen

In his Mouse Tower on the Rhine.

8. Do you think, O blue-eyed banditti [4] ,

Because you have scaled the wall,

Such an old moustache [5] as I am

Is not a match for you all?

9. I have you fast in my fortress,

And will not let you depart,

But put you down into the dungeon [6] ,

In the round tower of my heart.

10. And there will I keep you for ever,

Yes, for ever and a day,

Till the walls shall crumble to ruin,

And moulder in dust away!

—HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

* * *

[1] occupation: Work, labour.

[2] chamber: Room.

[3] turret: Small tower.

[4] banditti: Outlaws, robbers.

[5] moustache: The hair on the upper lip; here it means "an old man."

[6] dungeon: A deep, dark prison.