The warrigal"s lair is pent in bare Black rocks at the gorge"s mouth;It is set in ways where summer straysWith the sprites of flame and drouth;
But, when the heights are touched with lights Of hoar-frost, sleet, and shine,His bed is made of the dead grass-blade And the leaves of the windy pine.
Through forest boles the storm-wind rolls, Vext of the sea-driven rain;And, up in a cleft, through many a rift, The voices of torrents complain.
The sad marsh-fowl and the lonely owl Are heard in the fog-wreaths grey,When the warrigal wakes and listens and takes To the woods that shelter the prey.
In the gully-deeps the blind creek steeps, And the silver, showery moonGlides over the hills and floats and fills,And dreams in the dark lagoon;
Drawn by John Rowell
The Warrigal.
While halting hard by the station yard,
Aghast at the hut-flame nigh,
The warrigal yells, and flats and fells
Are loud with his dismal cry.
On the topmost peak of the mountains bleak, The south wind sobs, and straysThrough moaning pine and turpentine And the rippling runnel ways;And strong streams flow, and dark mists go,Where the warrigal starts to hear
The watch-dog"s bark break sharp in the dark,And flees like a phantom of fear!
Henry Clarence Kendall.
Author.-Henry Clarence Kendall, born 1839, near Milton, N.S.W. He was educated in the bush. At an early age he lost his father, and for a time was dependent on relatives and friends. At the age of thirteen he went to sea as cabin-boy on a small brig. Returning to Sydney at the age of fifteen, he received office employment. He then began to read and write books. He essayed journalism in Melbourne, and spent a few miserable years there, but returned to Sydney, where he was employed till his death in 1882. His works include Poems and Songs, Leaves from Australian Forests, Songs from the Mountains, Poems. He is the most musical and one of the most melancholy of Australian poets.
General Notes.-Mention any other poems of Kendall"s that youknow. A warrigal is a blackfellow"s term for a wild dog or a wild horse. Spelt differently, it is the name of a Victorian town. See how smoothly the verses run. Note how wild is the wild dog"s lair. Discuss the question, "Which leads the happier life-a wild dog or a tame dog?"
