Charles Kingsley (b. 1819, d. 1875) was born at Holne, Devonshire, England.
He took his bachelor's degree at Cambridge in 1842, and soon after entered
the Church. His writings are quite voluminous, including sermons,
lectures, novels, fairy tales, and poems, published in book form, besides
numerous miscellaneous sermons and magazine articles. He was an
earnest worker for bettering the condition of the working classes, and this
object was the basis of most of his writings. As a lyric poet he has gained
a high place. The " Saint's Tragedy " and Andromeda " are the most
pretentious of his poems, and " Alton Locke and " Hypatia " are his best
known novels.

1. "O MARY, go and call the cattie home, 
And call the cattle home, 
And call the cattle home, 
Across the sands o’ Dee! "
 The western wind was wild and dank with foam, 
 And all alone went she.

2. The creeping tide came up along the sand, 
And o'er and o'er the sand,
 And round and round the sand, 
 As far as eye could see;
 The blinding mist came down and hid the land -
 And never home came she.

3. Oh, is it weed, or fish, or floating hair?-
 A tress o’ golden hair,
 O’ drowned maiden's hair,
 Above the nets at sea.
 Was never salmon yet that shone so fair
 Among the stakes on Dee.

4. They rowed her in across the rolling foam,
 The cruel, crawling foam,
 The cruel, hungry foam,
 To her grave beside the sea;
 But still the boatmen hear her call the cattle home,
 Across the sands o' Dee.

NOTES.  The Sands o' Dee. The Dee is a river of Scotland, noted for its
salmon fisheries.

O' is a contraction for of, commonly used by the Scotch.

REMARK.  The first three lines of each stanza deserve special attention in
reading. The final words are nearly or quite the same, but the expression
of each line should vary. The piece should be read in a low key and with a
pure, musical tone.