And tell me now, what makes thee sing,
With voice so loud and free,
While I am sad, though I'm the king,
Beside the river Dee."
The miller smiled and doffed his cap:
"I earn my bread," quoth he;
"I love my wife, I love my friend,
I love my children three;
I owe no penny I cannot pay;
I thank the river Dee,
That turns the mill that grinds the corn,
To feed my babes and me."
"Good friend," said Hal, and sighed the while,
"Farewell! and happy be;
But say no more, if thou'dst be true,
That no one envies thee.
Thy mealy cap is worth my crown,
Thy mill my kingdom's fee;
Such men as thou are England's boast,
Oh miller of the Dee!"
DEFINITIONS:--Hale, hearty, strong. Blithe, happy. Quoth, said.
Fee, wealth, possession.
A BOY ON A FARM.
BY CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER.
Say what you will about the general usefulness of boys, it is my
impression that a farm without a boy would very soon come to
grief. What the boy does is the life of the farm. He is the
factotum, always in demand, always expected to do the thousand
indispensable things that nobody else will do.
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