A Champion worthy of the stream, But clouds and envious darkness hide O say to what blind region flee Less than divine command they spurn ; That never will they deign to hold The man of abject soul in vain That still invests the guardian Pass And let no Slave his head incline, By Uri's lake, where Tell Leapt, from his storm-vext boat, to land, 30 40 YARROW VISITED, SEPTEMBER, 1814. AND is this 1814.-1820. Yarrow? This the Stream Of which my fancy cherished, So faithfully, a waking dream? O that some Minstrel's harp were near, And chase this silence from the air, With uncontrolled meanderings; Nor have these eyes by greener hills Been soothed, in all my wanderings. And, through her depths, Saint Mary's Lake For not a feature of those hills Is in the mirror slighted. A blue sky bends o'er Yarrow vale, A tender hazy brightness; Mild dawn of promise! that excludes Though not unwilling here to admit ΙΟ 20 Where was it that the famous Flower His bed perchance was yon smooth mound And haply from this crystal pool, Delicious is the Lay that sings The path that leads them to the grove, And Pity sanctifies the Verse That paints, by strength of sorrow, The unconquerable strength of love; But thou, that didst appear so fair 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 And rising from those lofty groves, The shattered front of Newark's Towers, Fair scenes for childhood's opening bloom, For manhood to enjoy his strength; Yon cottage seems a bower of bliss, Of tender thoughts, that nestle there How sweet on this autumnal day, And on my True-love's forehead plant 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. 60 70 Thy ever-youthful waters keep And gladsome notes my lips can breathe, 80 The vapors linger round the Heights, 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, From the watch-towers of Helvellyn; Awed, delighted, and amazed! Potent was the spell that bound thee, For blue Ether's arms, flung round thee, Lo! the dwindled woods and meadows; Lo! the clouds, the solemn shadows, And the glistenings — heavenly fair! ΙΟ |