5. “So faint I am-these tottering feet No more my palsied frame can bear; And drifting snows my tomb prepare. And shield me from the biting blast : The dreary moor that I have pass’d.” ! 7. With hasty step the farmer ran, And close beside the fire they place With shaking limbs and blue-pale face. 8. The little children flocking came, And chaf'd his frozen hands in theirs, A comfortable mess prepares. And slowly down his wrinkled cheek And told the thanks he could not speak. 10. The children too began to sigh, And all their merry chat was o'er; More glad than they had done before, CHAP. V. The Poet's New-Year's Gift. 1. Pru'-dent, a. wise, cautious. Spright-ly, a. brisk, lively. Di-vi'ne, a. heavenly. 5. Fu'-ture, s. that which shall be; that which never has existed, but is approaching Fate, s. destiny, fortune. (Destruction, death). 1. MARIA ! I have ev'ry good For thee wish'd many a time, But never yet in ryhme. 2. To wish thee fairer is no need, More prudent or more sprightly, From temper-flaws unsightly. 3. What favour then, not yet possess'd, Can I for thee require, To thy whole heart's desire ? 4. None here is happy but in part; Full bliss is bliss divine; And, doubtless, one in thine. 5. That wish, on some fair future day Which fate shall brightly gild, I wish it all fulfill’d. CHAP. VI. but in poetry. Ode, s. a song or poem to be sung or set to music. 1. Hail, v. to salute, to call to. Hail, in this sense, is seldom used Hail, s. drops of rain congealed or frozen in the air. Ru’-ral, a. belonging to the country; retired. 3. Bow'-er, s. a small arbour made of branches; but here it means groves or woods. 4. Lay, s. a song. Vo'-cal, a. relating to the voice. Guest, s. a visitor. 1. HaiL beauteous stranger of the grove ! Thou messenger of spring! And woods thy welcome sing. * This word is written in Elision, by the grammatical figure Aphæresis, which cuts off the initial letter or syllable of a word, as "Tis, for it is, 'gan, for began ; but this should only take place in Poetry, being a license granted the poets, in order to make each verse contain the same number of syllables, &c. † Cuckoo, a bird that appears in the spring, and is very remarkable for the singularity of its note, whence it receives its name. It builds so nest, but sucks the eggs of other small birds, and leaves its own in the same place. (It is sometimes used figuratively, as a word of me proach or contempt). 2. Soon as the daisy decks the green, Thy certain voice we hear; Hast thou a star to guide thy path, Or mark the rolling year? 3. Delightful visitant! with thee . I hail the time of flowers, From birds among the bowers. 4. The schoolboy wand'ring thro' the wood To pull the primrose gay, And imitates thy lay. 5. Soon as the pea puts on the bloom, Thou fliest thy vocal vale, * An annual guest in other lands, Another spring to hail. 6. Sweet bird ! thy hower is ever green, Thy sky is ever clear; No winter in thy year! We'd make, with joyful wing, Our annual visit o'er the globe, Companions of the spring.. Logan. * Figuratively, the vale may be said to be vocal, as being filled. with the voices of birds.. CHAP. VII. On the Departure of the Nightingale. 1. Min'strel, s. a musician, or one that sings. 2. Pen'-sive, a, thoughtful. Muse, s. In Heathen mythology, one of the nine sisters who pre sided over the liberal arts; but here means the writer of this poem. Glide, v. to move or pass gently without any noise. 1. SWEET poet of the woods, a long adieu ! Farewell, soft minstrel of the early year! Ah! 'twill be long ere thou shalt sing anew, And pour thy music on the night's dull ear! 2. Whether on spring thy wand'ring flight await, Or whether silent in our groves you dwell, The pensive muse shall own thee for her mate, And still protect the song she loves so well. 3. With cautious step the love-lorn youth shall glide Thro' the lone brake that shades thy mossy nest; And shepherd girls from eyes profane shall hide The gentle bird who sings of pity best; For still thy voice shall soft affection move, And still be near to sorrow and to love ! SMITH. |