THE GREEN SHEAF

NO. 1

No. 1

Front Cover, by Pamela Colman Smith  [i]
The Book-worm, by Elinor Monsell   [ii]
The Hill of Heart’s Desire, translated from the Irish of Raferty by Lady Gregory  [iii]
      Illustration by Pamela Colman Smith  &[iii]
A Song of the Pyranees, poem by Alix Egerton  [iv]
      Illustration by Pamela Colman Smith  [iv]
The Parting of the Ways, poem by Cecil French  [v]
      Illustration by Cecil French  [v]
How Master Constans Went to the North, by Christopher St. John (Part I)  [vi]
Advertisement for Edith Craig & Co., illustrated by Pamela Colman Smith  [vii]
Advertisement for The Green Sheaf  [viii]

The hand-coloured illustration is unframed and centered on the tan page. On the right side of the image, a man in 18th-century dress sits in a backless chair or stool, facing left. His hair is tied back, and he wears a long green coat with frilled white sleeves, green breeches, white hose, and black slippers. In his hand, he holds a lorgnette up to his eyes. He peers down at a large gold-coloured book propped up on a pile of several other large books. There is a globe behind the books, showing mostly blue ocean with a pink continent visible along its top left edge. The artist’s initials are visible at the bottom left corner of the image: “EM.”

<h1>The Hill of Heart’s Desire</h1>

The Hill of Heart’s Desire

Translated by Lady Gregory from the Irish of Raferty, a Peasant Poet
of seventy years ago.

After the Christmas, with the help of Christ, I will never stop if I
am alive, I will go to the sharp-edged little hill. For it is a fine
place, without fog falling, a blessed place that the sun shines on,
and the wind does not rise there, or anything of the sort.

And if you were a year there you would get no rest, only sitting up
at night and eternally drinking.

The lamb and the sheep are there, the cow and the calf are there, fine
land is there without heath and without bog. Ploughing and seed-
sowing in the right month, and plough and harrow prepared and ready ;
the rent that is called for there, they have means to pay it; oats and flax
there, and large eared barley ; beautiful valleys with good growth in them,
and hay. Rods grow there, and bushes and tufts, white fields are there
and respect for trees ; shade and shelter from wind and rain ; priests and
friars reading their book ; spending and getting is there, and nothing scarce.

A SONG OF THE PYRENEES.

Out of your smile I weave a silver web,
And as the day grows down to evensong
I fold it round my heart, this glistening veil,
And sit and dream there shrouded in your smile.

Out of a word from you I weave a song,
And a dim music that I only hear
Flows through the hours of sunshine and of storm,
The music of the stars out of one word.

Out of your silences I build my heaven,
A strange fair garden ’neath a slumbering moon ;
Amid the din and chatter of the world
I dwell there in my heaven of silences.

Alix Egerton.

This hand-coloured triptych consists of three images, side-by-side horizontally, framed with a thick black line. The image depicts a singular landscape, divided into thirds. The leftmost section is sunny, the centre is rainy, and the rightmost is in nightfall. The left section contains a hilly landscape. The sun is partially in frame in the top left corner and its beams extend along the background of the image, behind mountain crests and clouds. In the foreground, a blue river spans the image. Behind it, red and green land dotted with bushes and plants extends up to grey-coloured mountains. In the centre section, the hilly landscape continues, but this section is dominated by rainclouds along the top of the frame. Rain, represented by vertical lines, falls diagonally from the upper left to the bottom right corner. In the middle-ground of this section, a forest rendered in black ink outlines the landscape between the river and mountains. In the rightmost section, the third part of the landscape is depicted in moonlight. This section is coloured in shades of purple and blue. The river that spanned the first two image sections horizontally turns in this section, retreating between two mountains into the horizon. From between two mountains, a white moon is partially visible against a deep blue sky.

This hand-coloured image is centered horizontally on the page, without frame. It serves as a decorative headpiece for the poem of the same title. The image depicts a woman’s face at the centre of a red rose, upon a brown wooden cross. The woman has red lips, closed eyes, and pale skin. Her face is surrounded by five layers of petals, each containing seven petals. Beside the bottom edge of the cross, the artist’s monogram is visible.

THE PARTING OF THE WAYS.

Beyond the warring of vain hopes, I hear
A voice that cries for ever in my breast :
“They who have dreamed of Beauty and yet fear
To cast away the world, shall find no rest
Beneath the sun, but hang upon the Rood
Of Time, until the world is laid to sleep,
And they are one with the bright multitude
Merged in the untroubled splendour of the deep.”

Cecil French.

HOW MASTER CONSTANS WENT TO THE NORTH.

Heard and told by Christopher St. John.

There lived in the South a rich Merchant whose name was Musciat,
and his son’s name was Constans.

The father was broad and ruddy-faced. He had great strength and
great Pride. But Constans was weak in body and his Humility was as
though he had been a beggar.

Now in the town by the sea where Musciat lived there was another
Merchant even richer than Musciat, and this merchant had a daughter called
Jehane. And Musciat said : “I will marry my son Constans to Jehane
⋯then her father’s riches will not shame me.”

Although Jehane was very fair, Musciat found that Constans was
nowise hot on the wedding, and Musciat said : “This comes of feeding and
clothing poor people, and kissing their feet. ⋯ My son, you shall have no
more of my gold to squander on mesel folk⋯ if you take not Jehane as
your wife.”

Constans answered nothing for some time. Then, heavy-hearted, he
spoke. “I have sworn faith to a Princess of the North ⋯ and although
Jehane is fairer than a star-bright evening, I will not wed her.”

“God’s mercy !” said Musciat, mocking him. “And when were you
in the North ?” “I was never there,” said Constans. “But in clear
dream I have seen her ⋯ and she is my fellow ⋯ I am to seek her
⋯ when I am worthy.”

And Musciat answered in a great rage that Constans should seek her
now. And Musciat drove Constans out.

(To be continued in the next Number.)

My Sheaf is small ⋯ but it is green.

I will gather into my Sheaf all the young fresh things I can—pictures,
verses, ballads of love and war; tales of pirates and the sea.

You will find ballads of the old world in my Sheaf. Are they not
green for ever ⋯

Ripe ears are good for bread, but green ears are good for pleasure.

I hope you will have my Sheaf in your house and like it.

It will stay fresh and green then.

. . . . . . . . . .

There will be thirteen Numbers in the year, printed on Hand-made
paper, and the Subscription will be Thirteen shillings annually, post free.
Single Copies may be had at Thirteen pence each.

CONTRIBUTORS.

Pictures.
Æ
GORDON CRAIG.
CECIL FRENCH.
W. T. HORTON.
E. MONSELL.
J. MONSELL.
PAMELA COLMAN SMITH.
DOROTHY P. WARD.

Letterpress.
A. E.
ALIX EGERTON.
CECIL FRENCH.
LADY GREGORY.
JOHN MASEFIELD.
CHRISTOPHER ST. JOHN.
E. HARCOURT WILLIAMS.
W. B. YEATS.

Edited and Published by PAMELA COLMAN SMITH,
14, Milborne Grove, The Boltons, London, S.W.

MLA citation:

The Green Sheaf, No. 1, 1903. Green Sheaf Digital Edition, edited by Lorraine Janzen Kooistra. Yellow Nineties 2.0, Toronto Metropolitan University Centre for Digital Humanities, 2022. https://1890s.ca/gsv1_all/