A Champion worthy of the stream,
Yon gray tower's living crest!

But clouds and envious darkness hide
A form not doubtfully descried: -
Their transient mission o'er,

O say to what blind region flee
These Shapes of awful phantasy?
To what untrodden shore?

Less than divine command they spurn ;
But this we from the mountains learn,
And this the valleys show;

That never will they deign to hold
Communion where the heart is cold
To human weal and woe.

The man of abject soul in vain
Shall walk the Marathonian plain ;
Or thrid the shadowy gloom

That still invests the guardian Pass
Where stood, sublime, Leonidas
Devoted to the tomb.

And let no Slave his head incline,
Or kneel, before the votive shrine

By Uri's lake, where Tell

Leapt, from his storm-vext boat, to land,
Heaven's Instrument, for by his hand
That day the Tyrant fell.

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40

YARROW VISITED,

SEPTEMBER, 1814.

AND is this

1814.-1820.

Yarrow? This the Stream

Of which my fancy cherished,

So faithfully, a waking dream?
An image that hath perished!

O that some Minstrel's harp were near,
To utter notes of gladness,

And chase this silence from the air,
That fills my heart with sadness!

With uncontrolled meanderings;

Nor have these eyes by greener hills

Been soothed, in all my wanderings.

And, through her depths, Saint Mary's Lake
Is visibly delighted;

For not a feature of those hills

Is in the mirror slighted.

A blue sky bends o'er Yarrow vale,
Save where that pearly whiteness
Is round the rising sun diffused,

A tender hazy brightness;

Mild dawn of promise! that excludes
All profitless dejection;

Though not unwilling here to admit
A pensive recollection.

ΙΟ

20

Where was it that the famous Flower
Of Yarrow Vale lay bleeding?

His bed perchance was yon smooth mound
On which the herd is feeding:

And haply from this crystal pool,
Now peaceful as the morning,
The Water-wraith ascended thrice,
And gave his doleful warning.

Delicious is the Lay that sings
The haunts of happy Lovers,

The path that leads them to the grove,
The leafy grove that covers;

And Pity sanctifies the Verse

That paints, by strength of sorrow,

The unconquerable strength of love;
Bear witness, rueful Yarrow !

But thou, that didst appear so fair
To fond imagination,

Dost rival in the light of day

Her delicate creation:

Meek loveliness is round thee spread,

A softness still and holy;

The grace of forest charms decayed,

And pastoral melancholy.

That region left, the vale unfolds

Rich groves of lofty stature,

With Yarrow winding through the pomp
Of cultivated nature;

And rising from those lofty groves,
Behold a Ruin hoary!

The shattered front of Newark's Towers,
Renowned in Border story.

Fair scenes for childhood's opening bloom,
For sportive youth to stray in;

For manhood to enjoy his strength;
And age to wear away in!

Yon cottage seems a bower of bliss,
A covert for protection

Of tender thoughts, that nestle there
The brood of chaste affection.

How sweet on this autumnal day,
The wild-wood fruits to gather,

And on my True-love's forehead plant
A crest of blooming heather!

And what if I enwreathed my own!

'T were no offence to reason;

The sober hills thus deck their brows

To meet the wintry season.

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Thy ever-youthful waters keep

And gladsome notes my lips can breathe,
Accordant to the measure.

80

The vapors linger round the Heights,
They melt, and soon must vanish ;
One hour is theirs, nor more is mine,
Sad thought, which I would banish,
But that I know, where'er I go,
Thy genuine image, Yarrow!

Will dwell with me, to heighten joy,

And cheer my mind in sorrow.

ΤΟ

ON HER FIRST ASCENT TO THE SUMMIT OF HELVELLYN.

1816. 1820.

INMATE of a mountain dwelling,
Thou hast clomb aloft, and gazed

From the watch-towers of Helvellyn;

Awed, delighted, and amazed!

Potent was the spell that bound thee,
Not unwilling to obey;

For blue Ether's arms, flung round thee,
Stilled the pantings of dismay.

Lo! the dwindled woods and meadows;
What a vast abyss is there!

Lo! the clouds, the solemn shadows,

And the glistenings — heavenly fair!

ΙΟ