Their Hi's apind on RE Than sentinels, lewens ILL With nothing letters, is fill ans
Then their own fings a mir in Se sty
That ancient story of Profet, frive
To the lane mok of Jaan The value? fe nehumble age Drawn from his mind? Say d By Tantalosj entailed spe inz And the dads
Silver How and Babble visible from the Gre looking towards Silve + Compan infelicity
from beans, et rock in the Ca See Rach, Prod Andronic, Tantof
by being placed the withdrew whe hung above his tried to grap fe 1"The dark s
Of fruit or flower, permission asked or not, I freely gather; and my leisure draws A not unfrequent pastime from the hum
Of bees around their range of sheltered hives Busy in that enclosure; while the rill,1
That sparkling thrids the rocks, attunes his voice To the pure course of human life which there Flows on in solitude. But, when the gloom Of night is falling round my steps, then most This Dwelling charms me; often I stop short,2 (Who could refrain ?) and feed by stealth my sight With prospect of the company within, Laid open through the blazing window :-there I see the eldest Daughter at her wheel
Spinning amain, as if to overtake
The never-halting time; or, in her turn, Teaching some Novice of the sisterhood That skill in this or other household work, Which, from her Father's honoured hand, herself, While she was yet a little-one, had learned. Mild Man! he is not gay, but they are gay;
And the whole house seems filled with gaiety. -Thrice happy, then, the Mother may be deemed, The Wife, from whose consolatory grave 3
I turned, that ye in mind might witness where, And how, her Spirit yet survives on earth!"
Of the Bees murmuring round their sheltered hives In that Enclosure; while the mountain rill,
Flows on in solitude from year to year.
-But at the closing-in of night, then most
This Dwelling charms me. Covered by the gloom, Then, in my walks, I oftentimes stop short,
The Wife, who rests beneath that turf, from which
Book Sixth, continued in Editions of 1814 and 1820 only
"The next three Ridges-those upon the leftBy close connexion with our present thoughts Tempt me to add, in praise of humble worth, Their brief and unobtrusive history.
-One Hillock, ye may note, is small and low, Sunk almost to a level with the plain
By weight of time; the Others, undepressed, Are bold and swelling. There a Husband sleeps, Deposited, in pious confidence
Of glorious resurrection with the just,
Near the loved Partner of his early days; And, in the bosom of that family mold, A second Wife is gathered to his side;
The approved Assistant of an arduous course From his mid noon of manhood to old age! He also of his Mate deprived, was left Alone 'mid many Children; One a Babe Orphaned as soon as born. Alas! 'tis not
In course of nature that a Father's wing Should warm these Little-ones; and can he feed? That was a thought of agony more keen. For, hand in hand with Death, by strange mishap And chance-encounter on their diverse road, The ghastlier shape of Poverty had entered Into that House, unfeared and unforeseen. He had stepped forth, in time of urgent need, The generous Surety of a Friend: and now The widowed Father found that all his rights In his paternal fields were undermined. Landless he was and pennyless.-The dews Of night and morn that wet the mountain sides, The bright stars twinkling on their dusky tops, Were conscious of the pain that drove him forth From his own door, he knew not when-to range 1225 He knew not where; distracted was his brain,
His heart was cloven; and full oft he prayed, In blind despair, that God would take them all. -But suddenly, as if in one kind moment To encourage and reprove, a gleam of light Broke from the very bosom of that cloud Which darkened the whole prospect of his days. For He, who now possessed the joyless right To force the Bondsman from his house and lands, In pity, and by admiration urged
Of his unmurmuring and considerate mind Meekly submissive to the law's decree, Lightened the penalty with liberal hand.
-The desolate Father raised his head, and looked On the wide world in hope. Within these walls, 1240 In course of time was solemnized the vow Whereby a virtuous Woman, of grave years And of prudential habits, undertook The sacred office of a wife to him, Of Mother to his helpless family.
—Nor did she fail, in nothing did she fail, Through various exercise of twice ten years, Save in some partial fondness for that Child Which at the birth she had received, the Babe Whose heart had known no Mother but herself. -By mutual efforts; by united hopes; By daily-growing help of boy and girl,
Trained early to participate that zeal Of industry, which runs before the day
And lingers after it; by strong restraint
Of an economy which did not check
The heart's more generous motions tow'rds themselves Or to their neighbours; and by trust in God; This Pair insensibly subdued the fears
And troubles that beset their life and thus Did the good Father and his second Mate Redeem at length their plot of smiling fields. These, at this day, the eldest Son retains: The younger Offspring, through the busy world,
Have all been scattered wide, by various fates; But each departed from the native Vale, In beauty flourishing, and moral worth."
THE CHURCH-YARD AMONG THE MOUNTAINSContinued
Impression of these Narratives upon the Author's mind-Pastor invited to give account of certain Graves that lie apartClergyman and his Family-Fortunate influence of change of situation-Activity in extreme old age-Another Clergyman, a character of resolute Virtue-Lamentations over mis-directed applause—Instance of less exalted excellence in a deaf man- -Elevated character of a blind man-Reflection upon Blindness—Interrupted by a Peasant who passes—his animal cheerfulness and careless vivacity-He occasions a digression on the fall of beautiful and interesting Trees—A female Infant's Grave-Joy at her Birth-Sorrow at her Departure-A youthful Peasant-his patriotic enthusiasm and distinguished qualities—his 1 untimely death-Exultation of the Wanderer, as a patriot, in this Picture-Solitary how affected-Monument of a Knight—Traditions concerning him-Peroration of the Wanderer on the transitoriness of things and the revolutions of society-Hints at his own past Calling-Thanks the Pastor.
WHILE thus from theme to theme the Historian passed, The words he uttered, and the scene that lay Before our eyes, awakened in my mind Vivid remembrance of those long-past hours; When, in the hollow of some shadowy vale, (What time the splendour of the setting sun
his patriotic enthusiasm―distinguished qualities—and
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