184 THE HUSBANDMAN.. She that latest leaves the nest, Though the most protected; Or in thought neglected. 'Gainst the islet's rocky shore Nature favors it no less Than the guarded, still recess, Where the birds for shelter press, THE HUSBANDMAN.- Sterling. EARTH, of man the bounteous mother, Shares with him these gifts divine. Many a power within her bosom Noiseless, hidden, works beneath; Hence are seed, and leaf, and blossom, Golden ear and clustered wreath. These to swell with strength and beauty Man's a king, his throne is Duty, Since his work on earth began. HELLVELLYN. Bud and harvest, bloom and vintage, Barn, and mill, and wine-vat's treasures, What the dream, but vain rebelling, Wind and frost, and hour and season, Sow thy seed and reap in gladness! 185 HELLVELLYN. — Sir W. Scott. In 1805, a young gentleman, who was fond of wandering amids! the romantic scenery of the "Lake District," in the counties of Westmoreland and Cumberland, in England, lost his way on the Hellvellyn Mountains, and perished there. Three months afterwards his remains were found, guarded by a faithful terrier-dog, the sole companion of his rambles. I CLIMBED the dark brow of the mighty Hellvellyn, Lakes and mountains beneath me gleamed misty and wide; 186 HELLVELLYN. All was still, save by fits, when the eagle was yelling, And starting around me the echoes replied. On the right, Striden-edge* round the Red-tarn was bending, And Catchedicam* its left verge was defending, Dark green was the spot, 'mid the brown mountain heather, Where the pilgrim of nature lay stretched in decay, Like the corpse of an outcast abandoned to weather, Till the mountain winds wasted the tenantless clay. Nor yet quite deserted, though lonely extended, For, faithful in death, his mute favorite attended, The much-loved remains of her master defended, And chased the hill-fox and the raven away. How long didst thou think that his silence was slumber? When the wind waved his garment, how oft didst thou start? How many long days and long weeks didst thou num ber, Ere he faded before thee, the friend of thy heart? And, O, was it meet, that no requiem read o'er him, No mother to weep, and no friend to deplore him, And thou, little guardian, alone stretched before him Unhonored the pilgrim from life should depart? When a prince to the fate of a peasant has yielded Hills in the Lake District. THE REAPER AND THE FLOWERS. 187 Through the courts, at deep midnight, the torches are gleaming, In the proudly-arched chapel the banners are beaming, Far down the long aisle sacred music is streaming, Lamenting a chief of the people should fall. But meeter for thee, gentle lover of nature, To lay down thy head like the meek mountain lamb; When, wildered, he drops from some cliff huge in stature, And draws his last sob by the side of his dam; And more stately thy couch by this desert lake lying, Thy obsequies sung by the gray plover flying, With one faithful friend but to witness thy dying, In the arms of Hellvellyn and Catchedicam. THE REAPER AND THE FLOWERS. Longfellow. THERE is a reaper, whose name is Death, He reaps the bearded grain at a breath, And the flowers that grow between. "Shall I have nought that is fair?" saith he; He gazed at the flowers with tearful eyes, He kissed their drooping leaves; It was for the Lord of Paradise He bound them in his sheaves 188 THE FLOWERS OF THE FOREST. My Lord has need of these flowerets gay," "Dear tokens of the earth are they, "They shall all bloom in fields of light, And saints, upon their garments white, And the mother gave, in tears and pain, O, not in cruelty, not in wrath, The reaper came that day; 'Twas an angel visited the green earth, THE FLOWERS OF THE FOREST. — Mrs. Cockburn. I've seen the smiling of Fortune beguiling, I've seen the forest adorned of the foremost With flowers of the fairest, both pleasant and gay Full sweet was their blooming, their scent the air per fuming; But now they are withered, and a' wede away. |