The Thames.

79

THE THAMES.

THIS scene, how rich from Thames's side,
While ev❜ning suns their amber beam
Spread o'er the grassy surfac'd tide,

And 'mid the masts and cordage gleam; Blaze on the roofs with turrets crown'd, And gild green pastures stretch'd around, And gild the slope of that high ground

Whose corn-fields bright the prospect bound!

The white sails glide along the shore,
Red streamers on the breezes play;
The boatmen ply the dashing oar,

And wide their various freight convey;
Some Neptune's hardy, thoughtless train,
And some the careful sons of gain,
And some the sportive nymph and swain
List'ning to music's soothing strain.

But here, while these the sight allure,
Still fancy wings her flight away
To woods recluse, and vales obscure,
And streams that solitary stray;

80

The Tempestuous Evening.

To view the pine-grove on the hill,
The rocks that trickling springs distil,
The meads that quiv'ring aspens fill,

Or alders crowding o'er the hill.

SCOTT

THE TEMPESTUOUS EVENING.

THERE'S grandeur in this sounding storm,
That drives the hurrying clouds along,
That on each other seem to throng,
And mix in many a varied form;
While bursting now and then between,
The moon's dim misty orb is seen,
And casts faint glimpses on the green.

Beneath the blast the forests bend,
And thick the branchy ruin lies,
And wide the shower of foliage flies:
The lake's black waves in tumult blend,
Revolving o'er and o'er, and o'er,
And foaming on the rocky shore,

Whose caverns echo to their roar.

The Pleasant Evening.

But can my soul the scene enjoy

That rends another's breast with pain? O, hapless he, who near the main, Now sees its billowy rage destroy! Beholds the found'ring bark descend, Nor knows but what its fate may end The moments of his dearest friend!

81

SCOTT.

THE PLEASANT EVENING.

DELIGHTFUL looks this clear calm sky,
With Cynthia's orb on high!

Delightful looks this smooth green ground,
With shadows cast from cots around;
Quick twinkling lustre decks the tide,
And cheerful radiance gently falls
On that white town and castle walls,
That crown the spacious river's further side.

And now along the echoing hills

The night-bird's strain melodious trills;

And now the echoing dale along

Soft flows the shepherd's tuneful song ;

82

Description of a Cottage.

And now, wide o'er the water borne,
The city's mingled murmur swells,
And lively change of distant bells,

And varied warbling of the deep-ton'd horn.

SCOTT.

DESCRIPTION OF A COTTAGE.

WHERE o'er the brook's moist margin hazels meet,

Stands my lone home-a pleasant cool retreat. Gay loosestrife there, and pale valerian spring, And tuneful reed-birds, mid the sedges sing. Among green oziers winds my stream away, Where the blue halcyon skims from spray to spray,

Where waves the bulrush as the waters glide, And yellow flag-flowers deck the sunny side. East from my cottage stretch delightful meads, Where rows of willows rise, and banks of reeds; There roll clear rivers; there, old elms between, The mill's white roof, and circling wheels are

seen.

SCOTT.

The Hare and Tortoise; a Fable. 83

ANOTHER.

On a green hillock, by the shady road,
My dwelling stands-a sweet recluse abode !
And o'er my darken'd casement intertwine
The fragrant brier, the woodbine, and the vine.
Before my door the box-hedg'd border lies,
Where flowers of mint and thyme, and tansy
rise;

Along my wall the yellow stonecrop grows, And the red houseleek on my brown thatch blows.

Spread on the slope of yon steep western hill, My fruitful orchard shelters all the vill; There pear-trees tall their tops aspiring show, And apple-trees their branches mix below.

SCOTT.

THE HARE AND TORTOISE.

A FABLE.

A FORWARD hare of swiftness vain,
The genius of the neighb'ring plain,

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