Page:The Forest Sanctuary.pdf/137

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LAYS OF MANY LANDS.
131



THE MESSENGER-BIRD.



Some of the native Brazilians pay great veneration to a certain bird that sings mournfully in the night-time. They say it is a messenger which their deceased friends and relations have sent, and that it brings them news from the other world.
See Picart's Ceremonies and Religious Customs.



Thou art come from the spirits' land, thou bird!
    Thou art come from the spirits' land!
Through the dark pine-grove let thy voice be heard,
    And tell of the shadowy band!

We know that the bowers are green and fair
    In the light of that summer shore,
And we know that the friends we have lost are there,
    They are there—and they weep no more!

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