INTO BALLAD-LAND. 1 15 



he will certainly return from his raid into Ballad-land in far 

 different flight to another hapless lover, Lord Randal, 



"Mother, make my bed soon, 

 For I'm sick at the heart, and fain wad lie down." 



He will bring back a store of sunny recollections and bright 

 dreams, a plenteous stock of health, and a lighter heart where- 

 with to engage afresh with the stern stuff whereof modern life 

 is made up. And, as he turns his back upon Ballad-land, he 

 will watch, with all the fond longings of a lover, the curves of 

 the fast-receding hills and their many-changing lines purple, 

 deep blue, and grey till outlines and shades alike wax faint and 

 fainter still, and at length disappear into the clouds, often to be 

 reproduced hereafter in bright visions, coloured by fancy and 

 contentment. 



