Chequering the ground-from rock, plant, tree, or
At length a pleasant instantaneous gleam
Startles the pensive traveller while he treads
His lonesome path, with unobserving eye
To Scotland's heaths; or those that crossed the sea And drew their sounding bows at Azincour, Perhaps at earlier Crecy, or Poictiers. Of vast circumference and gloom profound This solitary Tree! a living thing
Bent earthwards; he looks up-the clouds are split Produced too slowly ever to decay;
Asunder, and above his head he sees
The clear Moon, and the glory of the heavens. There, in a black-blue vault she sails along,
Followed by multitudes of stars, that, small And sharp, and bright, along the dark abyss Drive as she drives: how fast they wheel away, Yet vanish not!-the wind is in the tree, But they are silent ;-still they roll along Immeasurably distant; and the vault,
Of form and aspect too magnificent
To be destroyed. But worthier still of note Are those fraternal Four of Borrowdale, Joined in one solemn and capacious grove; Huge trunks! and each particular trunk a growth Of intertwisted fibres serpentine
Up-coiling, and inveterately convolved;
Nor uninformed with Phantasy, and looks That threaten the profane ;-a pillared shade,
Built round by those white clouds, enormous clouds, Upon whose grassless floor of red-brown hue,
Still deepens its unfathomable depth.
At length the Vision closes; and the mind, Not undisturbed by the delight it feels, Which slowly settles into peaceful calm, Is left to muse upon the solemn scene.
Nor a breath of air
Ruffles the bosom of this leafy glen.
From the brook's margin, wide around, the trees Are stedfast as the rocks; the brook itself, Old as the hills that feed it from afar, Doth rather deepen than disturb the calm Where all things else are still and motionless. And yet, even now, a little breeze, perchance Escaped from boisterous winds that rage without, Has entered, by the sturdy oaks unfelt, But to its gentle touch how sensitive
Is the light ash! that, pendent from the brow Of yon dim cave, in seeming silence makes A soft eye-music of slow-waving boughs,
Powerful almost as vocal harmony
I left our cottage-threshold, sallying forth With a huge wallet o'er my shoulders slung, A nutting-crook in hand; and turned my steps Tow'rd some far-distant wood, a Figure quaint,
To stay the wanderer's steps and soothe his thoughts. Tricked out in proud disguise of cast-off weeds
THERE is a Yew-tree, pride of Lorton Vale, Which to this day stands single, in the midst Of its own darkness, as it stood of yore: Not loth to furnish weapons for the bands Of Umfraville or Percy ere they marched
Which for that service had been husbanded,
By exhortation of my frugal Dame- Motley accoutrement, of power to smile
At thorns, and brakes, and brambles,—and, in truth, More ragged than need was! O'er pathless rocks, Through beds of matted fern, and tangled thickets, Forcing my way, I came to one dear nook Unvisited, where not a broken bough Drooped with its withered leaves, ungracious sign Of devastation; but the hazels rose Tall and erect, with tempting clusters hung,
A virgin scene!-A little while I stood, Breathing with such suppression of the heart As joy delights in; and, with wise restraint Voluptuous, fearless of a rival, eyed
The banquet ;-or beneath the trees I sate
Among the flowers, and with the flowers I played; A temper known to those, who, after long And weary expectation, have been blest With sudden happiness beyond all hope. Perhaps it was a bower beneath whose leaves The violets of five seasons re-appear And fade, unseen by any human eye; Where fairy water-breaks do murmur on For ever; and I saw the sparkling foam, And-with my cheek on one of those green stones That, fleeced with moss, under the shady trees, Lay round me, scattered like a flock of sheep- I heard the murmur and the murmuring sound, In that sweet mood when pleasure loves to pay Tribute to ease; and, of its joy secure, The heart luxuriates with indifferent things, Wasting its kindliness on stocks and stones, And on the vacant air. Then up I rose,
And dragged to earth both branch and bough, with crash
And merciless ravage: and the shady nook Of hazels, and the green and mossy bower, Deformed and sullied, patiently gave up Their quiet being: and, unless I now Confound my present feelings with the past; Ere from the mutilated bower I turned Exulting, rich beyond the wealth of kings, I felt a sense of pain when I beheld The silent trees, and saw the intruding sky.- Then, dearest Maiden, move along these shades In gentleness of heart; with gentle hand Touch-for there is a spirit in the woods.
Were fellow-travellers in this gloomy Pass, And with them did we journey several hours At a slow step. The immeasurable height Of woods decaying, never to be decayed, The stationary blasts of waterfalls, And in the narrow rent, at every turn, Winds thwarting winds bewildered and forlorn, The torrents shooting from the clear blue sky, The rocks that muttered close upon our ears, Black drizzling crags that spake by the wayside
That errand-bound 'Prentice was passing in haste— What matter! he's caught-and his time runs to waste;
The Newsman is stopped, though he stops on the fret;
Ar the corner of Wood Street, when daylight And the half-breathless Lamplighter-he's in the
appears, Hangs a Thrush that sings loud, it has sung for
Poor Susan has passed by the spot, and has heard In the silence of morning the song of the Bird.
'Tis a note of enchantment; what ails her? She sees A mountain ascending, a vision of trees;
The Porter sits down on the weight which he bore; The Lass with her barrow wheels hither her store ;- If a thief could be here he might pilfer at ease; She sees the Musician, 'tis all that she sees!
Bright volumes of vapour through Lothbury glide, He stands, backed by the wall;-he abates not his And a river flows on through the vale of Cheapside.
AN Orpheus! an Orpheus! yes, Faith may grow bold, Mark that Cripple who leans on his crutch; like a And take to herself all the wonders of old ;- Near the stately Pantheon you'll meet with the same In the street that from Oxford hath borrowed its name.
His station is there; and he works on the crowd, He sways them with harmony merry and loud; He fills with his power all their hearts to the brim— Was aught ever heard like his fiddle and him?
What an eager assembly! what an empire is this! The weary have life, and the hungry have bliss; The mourner is cheered, and the anxious have rest; And the guilt-burthened soul is no longer opprest
That long has leaned forward, leans hour after hour!-
That Mother, whose spirit in fetters is bound, While she dandles the Babe in her arms to the sound.
Whatever be the cause, 'tis sure that they who pry and pore
The Show-man chooses well his place, 'tis Leicester's Seem to meet with little gain, seen less happy than
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