? 
192 THE WOODPECKER. 
The sea-gull may scream on the breast of the 
tide ; 
On the foam-crested billows the peterel may 
ride ; 
But the woodpecker asketh nor river nor sea; 
Give him but the old forest, and old forest- 
tree, 
And he’ll leave to the proud lonely eagle the 
height 
Of the mist-shrouded precipice splintered and 
white ; 
And he'll leave to the gorcock the heather 
and fern, 
And the lake of the valley to woodcock and 
hern ; 
To the sky-lark he’ll leave the wide fields of 
the air, 
The sunshine and rainbow ne’er tempted him 
there. 
The greenwood for him is the place of his 
rest, 
And the broad-branching tree is the home he 
loves best. 
