THE MOON’S GARDEN PARTY

In the days before to-day,

Ere the Stars were made to stay

In the places where, since then, they shed their light!

They, the Children of the Sky,

Full of fun, but coy and shy,

To the Moon, their mother, came one happy summer night!

Came they seeking right disposal

Of a sweet but strange proposal;

Which was, that to Earth they should be taken,

And upon its sward so green,

Meet the creatures they had seen

The Sun, with his spears, each morning waken!

Thus it was, their eyes alight,

Round her knees they clustered tight,—

Clamant for the new delight!

And the Moon, Dear Mother Moon!

Smilingly inclined her head,

And in whispers softly said:

“We shall go there very soon, very soon!”

So, without a shred of doubt,

It was thus it came about

That Her Majesty, the Moon,

In her silver gown and shoon,

Held a Revel one high noon

In a large and lovely garden with a Lawn!

And such a Lawn! [122]

It was wide and smooth and ordered,

And with shady trees ’twas bordered

All around!

In the centre, there were beds,

Full of plants; all greens and reds,

And a lake that mirrored them till dawn!

And about the lake so fair

There was wavy maiden-hair

That from out its rocky edges shyly grew!

But, above the mignonette,

Where the other blossoms met,

There were whisperings of apprehensions new;

And the flowers, bathed in light,

Seemed to tremble, as with fright,

When the straying Autumn breezes gently blew!

For the fingers of the wind

Caught them playfully behind,

And so doing, shook their fragrance on the air!

Threw it broadcast on the undulating air!

Out beyond the garden fences,

Through the paddocks, there commences

The unbroken bushland prime;

In its sheltering recesses

Nature nurtures and caresses

All that’s native to this clime!

There, man’s ruthless usurpation

Stops, and peaceful occupation

Is conceded,

Unimpeded,

To all who make it their abode or habitation!

Yet this spot of earth primeval,

With its denizens coeval,

Does not always peace contain;

And the hushed and restful stillness

Oft is broken by the shrillness

Of some cry of fear or pain! [123]

Goshawks grey, or red, or white,

And the tense black-shouldered kite,

Soar and strike the livelong day!

And at night the marbled owl,

Swiftest of night’s hunting fowl,

Swoops upon its startled prey!

Still, not all is black disaster;

Death is fleet, but life is faster,

And its numbers aye o’ermaster

Death’s invading arms!

O’er a gum-tree, lightning-blasted,—

(Where once honey-bees repasted!)

See the Forest Queen her creamy mantle throw;

Or upon a bank of rubble

Barely clothed with ferny stubble,

Watch the purple smilax dainty blossoms blow!

Or again, where “bottle brushes,”

Peopled are by singing thrushes,—

From whose throats a chorus rushes,

Note the Forest’s charms!

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Now within the garden grand

A great Summerhouse did stand;

And its doors were very wide and extra high;

For within it, tree-ferns tall,

Spread their fronds from wall to wall,

And so thickly, that they quite shut out the sky.

This, the stars banked up with flowers—

Culled from all the aerial bowers

That behind the clouds are hid from mortal sight!

And they then with loving care

Decked the whole with colours rare,

Brought to beauty by their own resplendent light!

Viands, too, they brought and spread

On a table that with bread

And all delicatest dainties was agleam! [124]

This they did, that guests to leave,

Might, ere going, each receive

From the hostess Queen a gift on which to dream!

In the meantime, there was sent

Through the garden’s wide extent,—

A most kindly note to all who therein delve,

To attend an evening Fete,

When the Moon, in robes of State,

Would receive and entertain them, just at twelve!

Then excitement grew intense,

For a problem so immense

Had not ever met the garden folk before!

How were they to meet the Queen,

Who, ere this, had not been seen,

Save above them, as a Goddess to adore?

Who among them all should lead?

What new dresses would they need?

Would they want an introduction, or just pass

Like the troops upon parade

When a demonstration’s made,

And the King himself reviews them in the mass;

These, and nicer questions all,

At a Conference or Call,

In discussion, were determined and agreed!

So it fell that at long last,

All their worries overpast,

There was nought to do save gather and proceed!

But talk about a clatter!

Speak about a row!

Why a Black’s Corroboree,

Or an Indian Pow-Wow

Are as nothing,

Simply nothing,

To the rattle and the roar

That all other sounds defied,—

When the guests began to pour [125]

Through the gate

At a rate

That a shepherd could not state

If to count them he had tried!

For, like little Dolly Varden,

All the dwellers in the garden,

All the beetles and the other tiny things;

All the spiders and the aphis,

With the “Kooka,” and the Mavis,

Came a-hopping and a-flopping

On their little legs and wings!

And the cries that they emitted!

Made one think that they were fitted

For a Zoo,

Perhaps two!—

By the way they carried on!

But to silence all were bidden,

When from out the cornflowers hidden

Came a Mantis, with his hands outspread and high;

And in tones that each could hear,

Full and round, yet sweet and clear,

Simply cried:

“Stand aside!

For the Mower and his Lady now draw nigh!”

Then to places all were hurried;

Some were late, and so were flurried,

But the Marshal set them right!

Marshal Spider!—

Splendid Rider!—

Mounted on a Magpie proud;—

Set to order,

Quelled disorder,

Closed the lines and kept the crowd!

For the stakes, to which the roses

In the Summer-time were tied; [126]

With their sharp and pointed noses

Stood the carriage drive beside!

Each was held by some tall froggy,

Who upon a Falcon black,

Seemed to wish that it were foggy

So that he might cool his back!

But to duty they were bound,

And not e’en so sweet a sound

As the lapping of the wavelets on the lake.

Could have caused them to forsake,

The especial posts to which they were assigned.

Theirs the task to guard the Drive,

So that each one to arrive,

Might not stray beyond the line

Of the driveway’s broad incline;

But would join with all the rest.

Into proper order pressed,

In the way the marshal had designed!

When at length, in silence standing,

In a voice of power commanding

Spake the Marshal to the rapt, expectant throng:

“Let each gallant pair be ready,

To advance in order, steady,

When the Mower and his Lady move along;

For the Mower is our King,

And behind him we will bring

To Her Majesty the Moon and to her Court,

Such a wealth of garden lore

As may never, never, more

Be attempted or projected e’en in thought!”

Scarcely had the Marshal ended

Ere the Mower’s train extended,

Fell into its place and moved towards the Lawn!

First, of course, the Heralds Royal,

Clothed in all the colours loyal:

Gaudy Butterflies, with banner-wings outspread. [127]

Next the soldier-ants, so sprightly,

Stepping gaily, straightly, lightly,

With what seemed a most determined martial tread!

Followed on the King’s retainers:

Busy bees in brown and gold;

Then the bravos and maintainers;

Hardy beetles, brave and bold.

After these the Knights and Consuls

With their Ladies fair and fine:

All the birds that seek the garden

When the golden wattles shine!

In their midst the Mower stately,

King of all the garden race,—

And his Queen the Water-sprinkler,

Tall and slender, full of grace,

But as shy and quickly startled as a fawn!

Thus, in order, as directed,—

None were otherwise detected,

On they moved to meet the queen!

On the spacious, trim, and flower-surrounded Lawn!

And not least among the party

Were the Mower’s henchmen hearty:

All the tools,

Which he rules

With a blade both swift and keen!

Rake and Hoe and Pick and Shovel;

Fork and Spade and Knife and Can;

Hammer, Saw, and Sieve and Level;

Nails and Screws all spick and span;

Seccateurs and Shears and Spanner;

Nuts and Bolts and Augers fine;

Each according to its manner,—

Rule and Rod and folded line.

E’en the old green garden barrow,

On whose forefront perched a sparrow,

Bobbed along on shaky legs! [128]

Then there came the refuse-bin,

On whose lid of rusty tin

Danced a group of clothes-pegs!

After these the yard-broom strode,

Gruff and grim with seeming ire;

And from out his dark abode

Rolled a coil of fencing wire!

Then emerged the “steps” a-striding,—

On their top a cat was riding,—

Tail erect and back all arched!

Right behind, its white face gleaming,

From beneath its banner streaming,—

Bravely on the flagpole marched!

And, not wishing to be listed

From a gathering so strange,

Came the scythe all bent and twisted,

With the axe, well out of range!

Other things were there in dozens!

Little folk the garden cozens,—

Such as round the Lattice play!

Snails and Slugs and Red-spot Spiders!

Thrifty Ants (those rare providers!)

And the Slaters clothed in grey!

Churchmen, too: The green-robed Mantis,

Praying for the lost Atlantis,—

Or at least they seemed to be!

Lawyers, clad in black and white:

Magpies properly bedight,

And the Lark of Minstrelsy!

Parrot politicians, too,

Talking, talking, as they do,—

Of the scarcity of corn!

When the spring lambs should be shorn!

What would happen without rain—

Would the farmers sow again? [129]

But by far the rarest sight,

Of that wondrous Autumn night,

Were three lovely kittens white;—

Who, within a basket sleeping,

As, ’twas thought, in safest keeping,

Woke to find that, all undone,

Their pink ribbons, one by one,

Had been knotted to their basket

Tightly as a sailor’s gasket!

And, as if by Magic brought,

The basket to a carriage wrought!

‘Twas all so very, very queer,

No kitten outside Fairy-land

Could ever, ever understand

What made the basket disappear,

And, in the twinkling of a star,

Be turned into a basket car!

But a bright-eyed little mouse,

Watching from within the house,

Saw exactly what took place!

Four brown spiders spun the wheels

Round about four cotton reels.

Two red robins wove the hood

Out of grass and chips of wood.

Two jays built the driver’s place

Jutting from the basket’s face.

Two blue wrens, so spry and neat,

Fixed behind a “dicky” seat!

For the lamps, two glow-worms bright,

Shed their lustre on the night!

Two woodpeckers made the pole

From a slender wattle, whole!

Then, the basket car to draw,

Four white gulls, in ropes of straw,

To the carriage firmly tied,

With each other proudly vied, [130]

As they paced along!

A whip-bird drove the willing team,

By the star-light’s silver gleam!

At his side a soldier-ant,

(Sort of footman-Adjutant!)

Care-free quite of war’s alarms

Sat with loosely folded arms!

Four more soldier-ants beside,

Lent an air of splendid pride

To the kittens shy inside!

Two to ride postillion-wise;

Two to guard and supervise

From the seat behind!

Thus to meet the Queen they fared;

Nothing wanting, nothing spared

To please the eye and mind!

But, before they reached the Queen,

There was quite a little scene——

That a temporary stoppage did entail;

For, with not a warning note,

From the Rosary remote,—

Came a sound that made the anxious Marshal quail!

It was due to some field crickets,

Who, on coming through the pickets,

Had been told to be quite ready

To play something soft and steady

When Her Majesty the Moon,—

(Who conferred on them the boon!)

Should come forth to meet her guests upon the Lawn!

But the Band,

At its stand,

Should have waited the command

To begin the music mystic,

With its Summer strain artistic,— [133]

Ere it broke

At a stroke

Into tunings that the sleeping echoes woke!

So, the worried Marshal spider,

Sent a swallow-scout outrider

With most mandatory orders

To retire behind the borders,

And await the time propitious

To begin the strain ambitious,

Which should tell in martial bars

That the Queen and Court of stars,

With attendant satellites,

And the page boy stellar sprites

Were in waiting on the Lawn!

On the smooth and spacious Lawn!

When the episode was ended,

And a like mistake forfended,

Forward went the line extended

Down the carriage drive!

Turning, where the beds give entry,

Past a Robin Redbreast sentry,

Without haste, as do the gentry,

On the lawn did they arrive!

And the Moon that moment walking,

With her starry daughters, talking,

From the Summer-house came forth!

On the instant, came the crashing

Of the cricket music dashing,

Swift as pallid lightning flashing

From the far-off sombre North!

Stood aside the Heralds then,

Stepped behind attendants ten,

And The Mower and his Lady met the Queen!! [134]

What a scene!

Surely ne’er before was seen

So much majesty serene,

So much graciousness and light

As graced the lawn that autumn night!

For, as each made due obeisance,

With polite and sweet complaisance,—

And passed on;

Into scattered knots and groups,

Into merry little troups

They fell;

And the swell

Of the mingled conversations,

And the witty observations;

The soft requests

And whispered jests,

With the laughter

That came after,

To the Queen and all her Court was music rare!

And the supper fine that followed!

Oh! what quantities they swallowed

Of the dainties and the delicacies rare!

Black ants’ milk and box-tree honey;

Manna flakes, the shapes of money;

All the richest kinds of berries,

Currants, bush-grapes and wild cherries!

Grains and seeds and sugar-beet

Such as field birds love to eat!

Dew, in cups the gum-trees make

For their lovely blossoms sake.

These and other things galore

That the ants and spiders store!

Ev’ry sort of tasty dish

Such fastidious folk could wish! [135]

Ne’er before was served such fare;

Full and plenty and to spare!

Supper over, oh, what fun,

Was upon the lawn begun!

Dances, jigs, and turkey-trots

Round about forget-me-nots,—

Whose sweet eyes of tender blue

With amazement changed their hue,

When a hammer and a spanner

Underneath the Queen’s own banner,

In a rather awkward manner

Danced a sort of highland fling!

And a lanky Adjutant,—

With the red-legged Crane, his aunt,

Winked his eye, and said, “I can’t

Say I like this kind of thing!”

But the Augers straight and strong,

With their own peculiar song

Drowned his voice their chords among,—

As they sang:

“Come along! Oh, come along!

Join the happy gladsome throng!

Games that everyone can play;

Now’s your chance, so come away!”

Ring-a-rosy! Twos and threes—

Which the bees

‘Mid the trees,

Played with such consummate ease,

That the Ladybirds they chased

Tripped and stumbled as they raced,

Quite outpaced

By those honey-hunter bees!

And the sly and subtle chaffing

Of the Lovers, who, since quaffing [136]

Each the other’s health,

Had by stealth,

Sought out places where they might

Woo delight,

Free from all the tauntings light

Of the Merry-makers bright!

But, of course,

No resource

Of the sweethearts, could perforce

Any sort of quietude enforce.

So they had to just submit

To the things that stung or hit

As do lovers everywhere!

Here and there

Amid the crowd

Could be seen the elegant or proud;

Whilst some, alas,

(But let that pass,)

Were what is known as “loud.”

The Rake and Hoe, a wicked pair:

Knight bachelors are they,

With easy style, true debonair,

Went strolling ‘mid the ladies fair,

The gayest of the gay!

The Spade went prinking round the lawn,

Miss Shears was on his arm!

The Hay-fork pitched about till dawn

Forgetful of the Farm!

The Fern-tubs frowned upon the scene,

The Lattice glared its grief;

The Bulbs, in pots, though quite serene,

Displayed a sad belief

That all this freakish capering

Must bring its own relief!

And so it chanced! [137]

For, with scarce a warning sound,

Straightly stepping o’er the ground

Where the fence was broken, found,

Came the bush-folk forth to greet the Queen!

From the Forest they came ranging,

All in order, never changing,

In a stream across the paddocks green!

At their head, twelve Ibis slender,

Hid from view a kind of Tender

Borne upon the backs of Iguanas strong!

This, first strewn with sweet wild clover,

Was with bush flowers covered over;

One fair bloom for ev’ry member of the throng!

These, as Tribute was intended

For the Queen Moon great and splendid,

Whom to honour and to serve

Without question or reserve

Was a duty that they loved to pay!

And their sacred emblem-flowers,

Choicest of the Forest dowers,—

Were their gracious Queen to show,

That among her folk below,

Nothing could their true allegiance sway!

Thus enhanced,

Through the garden they advanced

Making for the Lawn!

On they came!

The Emus stately,

Proudly, quietly, sedately;

Followed by the Herons fine!

Wombats, Wallabys and Dingoes;

Grey Companion-Flamingoes;—

‘Keets and Lories line on line!

Woolly Bears and ‘Possums grey;

Singing birds and birds of prey; [138]

Platypuses; blue-tongued Lizards;

Mallee Hens, and Bower-Bird wizards,—

Hiding all they find away!

Cockatoos, white, black and pink;

Kestrels, Kites and Shrikes and Bats;

Flying Foxes; Native Cats;

Plovers from the Marsh’s brink!

Kangaroos, like tall men walking;

Cassowaries gravely stalking;

Falcons black, and Wedge-tailed Eagles,—

Strongest of the feathered beagles!

And the Egrets all too rare!

Black-necked Storks with wings so spacious;

Lyre-birds beautiful and gracious,

And the Magpie Lark so spare!

Honeyeaters, Red-capped Robins;

(In and out like fiery bobbins!)

Wrens of ev’ry sort and hue,

And the great Kingfisher blue!

Whipbirds, Rails and Orioles;

Bronzewing Pigeons; Pratincoles;

Every Austral bird of note,

From the Owl to Pardalote!

Soarers, perchers, coursers, waders,

Like an army of invaders,

On they came towards the Lawn!

The spacious, cool, green Lawn!

Presently, as they drew nearer,

Forms and faces growing clearer;

Silence fell,

Like a spell,

On the guests who just before

Had not dreamed there was in store,

A sight so passing strange! [139]

E’en the Queen herself, ’twas plain,

Looked for someone to explain,

At and on whose word they came!

But, as soon as on the Lawn

The new arrivals all were drawn;

Forward stepped a Cockatoo,

In his milk-white plumage new;

And in accents somewhat high,

Said they thus had ventured nigh,

That they might their homage yield,

To their Sovereign and their Shield,

For whose sake they’d gladly die.

Then, without undue premise,

Like a statesman, very wise,—

Craved the Queen’s most sweet permission,

To present, without omission,

All the several little groups

That in eager anxious troupes

Waited on her word!

And the Queen,

It was seen,

Smiled so gracious a consent,

That they all, with one intent,

As in passing, down they bent,

Flung their flowers about her feet!

Ringed her round with posies sweet!

This fair ceremony ended,

Everyone who there attended,

As their way about they wended,

Met and fraternised!

Filling out the pleasures light

Of that most historic night!

Thus, as in a lover’s passion,

Passed the time in wondrous fashion; [140]

Full of such excitements new,

That the moments simply flew,—

On, and on, towards the dawn!

Then,

Ere the sun

Had begun

To ope his golden portals,—

Or awake were sleepy mortals;

All by common impulse moved,

Turned towards the Queen they loved,

And bending low, gave salutation!

Yet, ere moving finally away,

“Farewell! A fair farewell!” to each they say;

Resolved through work or play,

To keep that night of nights,

Like some green growing thing,

The symbol of Eternal Spring,

In sweet and fondest memory for aye!

And the Moon and starry Court,

That the wonderment had wrought,

Faded slowly out of sight

In a blaze of newer light;

So strong and bright

That it swept away the night,

And to the wakened World a new Day brought!

“The Mower and his lady met the Queen.”

“The Mower and his lady met the Queen.”

Written by an Australian; Illustrated by an Australian; Published by an Australian; Printed by an Australian (John Osborne, 508 Albert Street, East Melbourne). 1925.