valley

   I come from haunts of coot and hern, I make a sudden sally And sparkle out among the fern, To bicker down a valley.

—Tennyson

Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the L hand double for all her sins. The voice of himthat crieth in the wilderness,Prepare ye the way of the L, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valleyshall be exalted,and everymountainand hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the L shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the L hath spoken it. The voicesaid,Cry. And hesaid,What shall Icry? All flesh isgrass, and all thegoodlinessthereof isastheflowerof the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the L bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

—Bible (Old Testament)

How Green was my Valley.

—Llewellyn Lloyd

'When you say ''hill'','the Queen interrupted,'I could show you hills, in comparison with which you'd call that a valley.' 'No, I shouldn't,'said Alice, surprised into contradicting her at last: 'a hill can't be a valley, you know. That would be nonsenseö' The Red Queen shook her head.'You may call it ''nonsense'' if you like,'shesaid,'but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!'

—Dodgson

We were now actually in the inner sanctuary of the Nanda Devi Basin, and at each step I experienced that subtlethrill which anyone of imagination must feel when treading hitherto unexplored country† My most blissful dream as a child was to be in some such valley, free to wander where I liked, and discover for myself some hitherto unrevealed glory of Nature. Now the reality was no less wonderful than that half-forgotten dream; and of how many childish fancies can that be said, in this age of disillusionment ?

—Shipton, Eric Earle

As for meöfor me, the grass grew longer, and more sorrowful, and the trees were surfaced like flesh, and girls were no longer to be treated lightly but were creatures of commanding sadness, and all journeys through the valley were now made alone, with passion in every bush, and the motions of wind and cloud and stars were suddenly for myself alone, and voices elected me of all men living and called me to deliver the world, and I groaned from solitude, blushed when I stumbled, loved strangers and bread and butter, and made long trips through the rain on my bicycle, stared wretchedly through lighted windows, grinned wryly to think how little I was known, and lived in a state of raging excitement.

—Lee, Laurie

For love is of the valley, come thou down And find him; by the happy threshold, he, Or hand in hand with Plenty in the maize, Or red with spirited purple of the vats, Or foxlike in the vine; nor cares to walk With Death and Morning on the silver horns.

—Tennyson

Hast thou given the horse strength? hast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? the glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valleyand rejoiceth in his strength: he goeth on to meet the armed men.

—Bible (Old Testament)

Hills of the North, rejoice: Rivers and mountain-spring, Hark to the advent voice! Valleyand lowland, sing! Though absent long, your Lord is nigh, He judgement brings, and victory.

—Oakley, Charles Edward

There was a rocky valley between Buxton and Bakewell†divine as the vale of Tempe; you might have seen the gods there morning and eveningöApollo and the sweet Muses of the Light† You enterprised a railroad†you blasted its rocks away† And, now, every fool in Buxton can be at Bakewell in half-an-hour, and every fool in Bakewell at Buxton.

—Ruskin,John

   For singing till his heaven fills 'Tis love of earth that he instils, And ever winging up and up, Our valley is his golden cup, And he the wine which overflows.

—Meredith, George

Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

—Tennyson

'Forward, the Light Brigade!' Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew In Memoriam A.H.H. Some one had blundered: Their's not to make reply, Their's not to reason why, Their's but to do and die: Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them Volleyed and thundered.

—Tennyson

   The L ismy shepherd; Ishall not want.He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.Yea, though I walk through the valleyof theshadow of death,I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the L for ever.

—Bible (Old Testament)

The mountain sheep are sweeter, But the valley sheep are fatter; We therefore deemed it meeter To carry off the latter. We made an expedition; We met a host, and quelled it; We forced a strong position, And killed the men who held it.

—Peacock,Thomas Love

The hand of the L was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the L, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones.

—Bible (Old Testament)

There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet; Oh! the last rays of feeling and life must depart Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart.

—Moore,Thomas