Chapter I: MIND me of the hawthorn trees,

With cuckoos flying near; The hawthorn blossoms smelt so sweet, The cuckoo called so clear!

The hill was steep enough to climb,
It seemed to touch the sky!
You saw two valleys from the top,
The Severn and the Wye.

The Severn and the Wye you saw,
And they were always green;
I think it was the prettiest sight
That I have ever seen.

And there, so far above the town, With not a soul to see, Whenever she could slip away My love would come to me!

I never smell the hawthorn bloom,
Or hear the cuckoo sing,
But I am minded of my love,
And Malvern Hills in Spring!

X

BY THE AVON

IN the meadows by the Avon, Underneath the slope of Bredon, There we often used to wander, My girl and I.

All around the thrushes singing, And on Sunday, church bells ringing, Overhead the soft clouds floating, White in the sky.

Still the waters of the Avon Flow so gently under Bredon, And on Sunday bells be ringing, Clouds floating high.

But I’m sick at heart and lonely, Nothing here has changed, save only Just we two, who once were courting, My girl and I.

XI

JEALOUSY