TRAvEL

BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON

I should like to rise and go

Where the golden apples grow;—

Where below another sky

Parrot islands anchored lie,

And, watched by cockatoos and goats,

LonelyCrusoes building boats;—

Where in sunshine reaching ont

Eastern cities, miles about,

Are withminaret

Among sandy gardens set,

And the rich goods from near and far

Hang for sale in thebazaar ;—

WhereWall round China goes,

And on one side the desert blows,

And with bell and voice and drum,

Cities on the other hum;—

Where are forests hot as fire

Wide as England, tall as a spire,

Full of apes and cocoanuts

And the negro hunters’ huts;—

Where the knotty crocodile

Lies and blinks in the Nile,

And the red flamingo fli

Hunting fish before his eyes;Where injungles near and far,

Man-devouring tigers are,

Lying close and giving ear

Lest the hunt be drawing near,

Or a comer-by be seen

Swinging in apalanquin ;—

Where among the desert sands

Some deserted city stands,

All its children,sweep and prince,

Grown to manhood ages since,

Not a foot in street or house,

Not a stir of child or mouse,

And when kindly falls the night,

In all the town no spark of light.

There I’ll come when I’m a man,

With a camelcaravan ;

Light a fire in the gloo

Of some dusty dining-room;

See the pictures on the walls,

Heroes, fights, andfestivals ;

And in a corner find the toy

Of the old Egyptian boys. dP9Rq5EX9dExoOtWzfVRARji0nFoeViZs2QvpA6yVDj6FZfSMKjUbVo8hTpx8fJB