THE CHILD WANDERS IN THE WOOD. 323 



just before you came up the hill. If you were 

 to ask the people who live in the houses, where 

 they will not let me in (they carefully shut 

 out the sun, too), they would tell you he died 

 thousands of years ago ; but they are foolish, 

 very foolish. It was hardly so long ago as 

 yesterday. Did not the Brook tell you all 

 about that? 



" ' Now this man, and all his people, used 

 to love me and drink me, as much as ever 

 they could all day long and a great part of 

 the night, and when they died they still wanted 

 to be with me, and so they were all buried on 

 the tops of the hills, and you will find these 

 curious little mounds everywhere on the ridges, 

 dear, where I blow along. There I come to 

 them still, and sing through the long dry 

 grass, and rush over the turf, and I bring the 

 scent of the clover from the plain, and the 

 bees come humming along upon me. The sun 

 comes, too, and the rain. But I am here most; 

 the sun only shines by day, and the rain only 



comes now and then. 



***** 



" i There never was a yesterday,' whispered 



212 



