MY LOVE AT CHURCH

When thou, my fair one, passed into the church,
The altar-lamps greatly increased their light;
And when thy hand the holy water touched

The drops left on thy brow were jewels bright!
The chair before which thou didst kneel and pray,
In a fair wonder-garden seemed to stand,
And when from out the portal thou didst go,
An angel came to lead thee by the hand!

THE ONLY BEAUTY

He who will splendour, must to India go;
And he to Spain, who will magnificence.
He to Catania, who noble will be named;
He who craves riches, to Peru far-famed.
For courtesy he must to Britain go;
And to the Sultan's realm for precious stone.
In all these lands for beauty seek in vain!
That can be found in my Love's face alone.

CATCHING THE MOON

I dreamed one night I pushed off in my boat
To fish for all the stars in heaven set.
As through the clear air I did gently float,

I caught the radiant Moon within my net.
Forth came the Sun, and loudly did lament:

'How can the heavens miss the Moon divine?' O Sun! despair not of night's ornament;

'Stead of the Moon, my darling's face shall shine!

BIRD SONG

Two birds sat in the forest dark;

One sang to the other so loud:

'Hast thou not seen what I have seen?
A Turk galloped past with armour sheen,
And held to his heart a maiden, I ween,
As fair as he was proud.

And the second bird sang in a mournful strain:

'I sat on a palace roof,

And heard a mother her daughter teaze :

"Though the stranger woos thee on his knees,

And offers gifts, thou art hard to please,
And holdest thyself aloof!"

6.66

Mother, O mother, I cannot leave-
Not for silver and not for gold—
My native land in such sore stress,
When foreign foes upon her press,
And ever grow our brave ranks less!
I will not be bought and sold."

'And while the mother and daughter strove,

The girl a figured banner wove,

But a tear lay in ev'ry flow'ret's eye,

And every stitch was a bitter sigh.'

LOVE AND SUICIDE

At midnight tolls the solemn bell;
At morning pass the bearers all.
There is no rosary to tell,

No hymning, and no velvet pall.
Unblessed to my grave I'm borne,
Unwept and unredeemed, alas!
Step to thy window, maiden, then,

And boast: 'I brought him to this pass!'

Sleep, my babe, may thy race be well run,
Glorious and brave like the conquering sun-
Ninna, my dear one, oh, ninna.

Lovelier than all is thy dear face,
As more than all grasses the corn hath
Ninna, my sweet one, oh, ninna.

Sweet smells my pet as a jasmine star,
Sweet from near, and sweet from afar-
Ninna, my flower, oh, ninna.

Three rosy apples hang on the tree;
I soon should die if I had not thee-
Ninna, my heart's love, oh, ninna.

1 'Ninna' signifies lullaby.

grace

Three pears hang on the pear-tree wild;
Mother would die if far from her child-
Ninna, my beauty, oh, ninna.

Christ has created thee! Angels of rest

Held thee! And Mary did give thee the breast-
Ninna, my little one, ninna.

The holy saints from Rome all came
To give to my boy his beautiful name—
Ninna, my treasure, oh, ninna.

Thee to her breast Holy Mary will fold,
Nurse thee, and give thee an apple of gold-
Ninna, my jewel, oh, ninna.

Sleep! come and bring sweet violets and roses,
Shed peace around while my boy reposes-
Ninna, my flower, oh, ninna.

All my words with their sweet refrain,
May they be wound in a golden chain—
Ninna, my darling, oh, ninna.

LILY WOLFFSOHN.

VOL. XLII-No. 248

TT

THE PROTECTION OF WILD BIRDS

It is now close upon thirty years since the first attempt was made to protect our wild birds by Act of Parliament. Prior to that, the only protection afforded by the law was to those various birds which come under the denomination of game.' But the number of species so protected was small; and the spirit in which our ancestors made the Game Laws was very different from the spirit which has impelled recent Parliaments to pass the various Wild Birds' Protection Acts. The following were the only birds legally protected before 1869, and are still the only ones which come within the legal definition of game in England and Scotland: the pheasant, partridge, grouse, black-game, ptarmigan, and bustard. In Ireland, in addition to these, certain protection is extended by the law to the landrail, woodcock, snipe, quail, wild-duck, widgeon, and teal. We have, no doubt, to thank the sporting spirit of our forefathers for preserving (at the cost of many human lives and much human bloodshed and suffering) several at least of these species from complete extermination. In the case of the bustard their efforts have been of no avail; and this bird, which at the end of last century bred on the South Downs of Sussex and ranged over Salisbury Plain, has become extinct since the year 1838, except as a rare straggler from the continent of Europe. The need of a legal close time is well illustrated by the history of the capercaillie in these islands. The capercaillie, which is to all intents and purposes a game bird, was not included among the birds protected by law, and was completely exterminated towards the end of the eighteenth century. It was re-introduced into Scotland by Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton in the year 1837, and has now re-established itself in the pine forests of Perthshire and the adjoining districts.

There is one bird which enjoys the singular distinction of a special Act of Parliament for its protection. Pallas' sand-grouse, which has on several occasions left its Central Asian home and arrived on our shores in considerable numbers, is absolutely protected from destruction at all seasons by an Act passed in 1888. But the hope of its becoming established in Great Britain has not been fulfilled.