POETRY.
CISTERCIANS.
Cisterciana cisterna et lane.
Au. things in the beginning Before their Maker came : The wheatfield for the winning, The furze-bush for the flame; Tho cattle in the cow-land, The meadow-sweet and sedge, The plover on the plough-land, The bullfinch in tho hedge; The sward the blackface browses, The stapler and the bale, The grey Cistereisn houses That pack the wool for sale; The down-land and the dew-pond, The drain-land and the dike, The Friday-fishing stewpoud, The netting of the pike; The grass on hillside ranges, The milk-froth in the pail, The granaries and granges, The echo of the flail; The applegarth and vineyard, The Southern Cloister figs, The dovecote and the kine yard, The fat December pigs.
All things in the beginning Before their Maker came : Labour to keep from sinning, Fasting and Prayer to tame.
Compline with Qui cisterns,• Exsurge with the lark; The novice Ad incomes, The old monk in the dark.
The old monk dreams and drowses, The young monk sings the scale; The grey Cistercian houses Pack all the wool for sale. J. M. F.
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