Heavy his low-hung lip did oft appear, Deprest by weight of musing phantasy; Profound his forehead was, though not severe; Yet some did think that he had little business here: Sweet heaven forefend! his was a lawful right; His limbs would toss about him with delight And, certes, not in vain; he had inventions rare. Long blades of grass, plucked round him as he lay, A pipe on which the wind would deftly play; A mailed angel on a battle-day; And cups of flowers, and herbage green and gold; And all the gorgeous sights which fairies do behold. He would entice that other man to hear His music, and to view his imagery: And, sooth, these two did love each other dear, As far as love in such a place could be; There did they dwell-from earthly labour free, If but a bird, to keep them company, Or butterfly sate down, they were, I ween, As pleased as if the same had been a maiden queen. LOUISA. I MET Louisa in the shade; And, having seen that lovely maid, Why should I fear to say That she is ruddy, fleet, and strong; And down the rocks can leap along, And she hath smiles to earth unknown; Smiles, that with motion of their own Do spread, and sink, and rise; That come and go with endless play, She loves her fire, her cottage home; In weather rough and bleak; And, when against the wind she strains, Take all that's mine "beneath the moon," If I with her but half a noon May sit beneath the walls Of some old cave, or mossy nook, When up she winds along the brook, To hunt the waterfalls. STRANGE fits of passion I have known: And I will dare to tell, But in the lover's ear alone, What once to me befel. When she I loved was strong and gay, And like a rose in June, I to her cottage bent my way, Upon the moon I fixed my eye, My horse trudged on-and we drew nigh And now we reached the orchard plot; Towards the roof of Lucy's cot The moon descended still. In one of those sweet dreams I slept, Kind Nature's gentlest boon! And, all the while, my eyes I kept On the descending moon. My horse moved on; hoof after hoof He raised, and never stopped: When down behind the cottage roof, At once, the bright moon dropp'd. What fond and wayward thoughts will slide Into a lover's head! "O mercy!" to myself I cried, If Lucy should be dead!" SHE dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, A maid whom there were none to praise, A violet by a mossy stone Half-hidden from the eye! -Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky. She lived unknown, and few could know But she is in her grave, and, oh, I TRAVELL'D among unknown men, Nor, England! did I know till then 'Tis past, that melancholy dreain! Among thy mountains did I feel And she I cherished turned her wheel Thy mornings showed, thy nights concealed "TIs said, that some have died for love: And here and there a churchyard grave is found In the cold North's unhallowed ground, Because the wretched man himself had slain, His love was such a grievous pain. And there is one whom I five years have known ; Upon Helvellyn's side: He loved- -the pretty Barbara died, And thus he makes his moan: Three years had Barbara in her grave been laid When thus his moan he made; "Oh, move, thou cottage, from behind that oak! Or let the aged tree uprooted lie, That in some other way yon smoke May mount into the sky! The clouds pass on; they from the heavens depart : I know not what I trace; But, when I cease to look, my hand is on my heart. "O! what a weight is in these shades! Ye leaves, When will that dying murmur he supprest? X I A Your sound my heart of peace bereaves, It robs my heart of rest. Thou thrush, that singest loud-and loud and free, Upon that alder sit; Or sing another song, or choose another tree. "Roll back, sweet rill! back to thy mountain bounds, For thou dost haunt the air with sounds That cannot be sustained; If still beneath that pine-tree's ragged bough Oh let it then be dumb! Be any thing, sweet rill, but that which thou art now. "Thou Eglantine, whose arch so proudly towers, (Even like a rainbow spanning half the vale) Thou one fair shrub, oh! shed thy flowers, And stir not in the gale. For thus to see thee nodding in the air, To see thy arch thus stretch and bend, Thus rise and thus descend, Disturbs me, till the sight is more than I can bear." The man who makes this feverish complaint THE COMPLAINT OF A FORSAKEN INDIAN WOMAN. (When a Northern Indian, from sickness, is unable to continue his journey with his companions, he is left behind, covered over with deer-skins, and is supplied with water, food, and fuel, if the situation of the place will afford it. He is informed of the track which his companions intend to pursue, and if he is unable to follow or overtake them, he perishes alone in the desert; unless he should have the good fortune to fall in with some other tribes of Indians. The females are equally, or still more, exposed to the same fate. See that very interesting work, Hearne's Journey from Hudson's Bay to the Northern Ocean. In the high Northern latitudes, as the same writer informs us, when the Northern lights vary their position in the air, they make a rustling and a crackling noise. This circumstance is alluded to in the first stanzas of the following Poem.) BEFORE I see another day, Oh let my body die away! In sleep I heard the Northern gleams; The stars were mingled with my dreams; In sleep did I behold the skies, I saw the crackling flashes drive : And yet they are upon my eyes, And yet I am alive. Before I see another day, Oh let my body die away! My fire is dead: it knew no pain; And they are dead, and I will die. When I was well, I wished to live, For clothes, for warmth, for food, and fire; Alas! ye might have dragged me on Another day, a single one! Too soon I yielded to despair; Why did ye listen to my prayer? When ye were gone my limbs were stronger; That, afterwards, a little longer, My child! they gave thee to another, -As if he strove to be a man, That he might pull the sledge for me. And then he stretched his arms, how wild Oh mercy! like a helpless child. My little joy! my little pride! In two days more I must have died. I feel I must have died with thee. I'll follow you across the snow; |