Page images
PDF
EPUB

5. "So faint I am-these tottering feet
No more my palsied frame can bear;
My freezing heart forgets to beat,
And drifting snows my tomb prepare.

6. "Open your hospitable door,

And shield me from the biting blast:
Cold, cold it blows across the moor,
The dreary moor that I have pass'd."

7. With hasty step the farmer ran,

And close beside the fire they place
The poor half-frozen beggar man,
With shaking limbs and blue-pale face.

8. The little children flocking came,
And chaf'd his frozen hands in theirs,
And busily the good old dame

A comfortable mess prepares.

9. Their kindness cheer'd his drooping soul, And slowly down his wrinkled cheek The big round tears were seen to roll, And told the thanks he could not speak.

10. The children too began to sigh,

And all their merry chat was o'er ;
And yet they felt they knew not why,

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.

In-ge-"nu-ous, a. candid, generous.

Tem'-per-flaws, s. faults in one's temper.

-Un-sight-ly, a. unpleasingly to the sight; ugly.

4. Bliss, s. happiness.

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).

I. MARIA! I have ev'ry good

For thee wish'd many a time,
Both sad, and in a cheerful mood,
But never yet in ryhme.

2. To wish thee fairer is no need,

More prudent or more sprightly,
Or more ingenuous, or more freed
From temper-flaws unsightly.

3. What favour then, not yet possess'd,
Can I for thee require,

In wedded love already blest,
To thy whole heart's desire?

4. None here is happy but in part;
Full bliss is bliss divine;

There dwells some wish in ev'ry heart,
And, doubtless, one in thine,

5. That wish, on some fair future day
Which fate shall brightly gild,
("Tis blameless, be it what it may),
I wish it all fulfill'd. ·

CHAP. VI.

Ode to the Cuckoo.↑

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

but in poetry.

Hail, s. drops of rain congealed or frozen in the air.

Beau'-te-ous, a. beautiful, charming.

Grove, s. a walk formed by trees, whose branches meet over.
Mes'-sen-ger, s. one who carries or brings an account of any thing.
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.

An'-nu-al, a. yearly.

Guest, s. a visitor.

6. Globe, s. the earth. Any round body is called a globe.

1. HAIL beauteous stranger of the grove!
Thou messenger of spring!

Now heaven repairs thy rural seat,
And woods thy welcome sing.

* This word is written in Elision, by the grammatical figure Apheresis, 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 It builds for the singularity of its note, whence it receives its name. no 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 res 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,

And hear the sound of music sweet
From birds among the bowers.

4. The schoolboy wand'ring thro' the wood
To pull the primrose gay,

[ocr errors]

Starts-thy curious voice to hear,
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 bower is ever green,
Thy sky is ever clear;

Thou hast no sorrow in thy song,
No winter in thy year!

7. O! could I fly, I'd fly with thee!
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 presided over the liberal arts; but here means the writer of this poem.

Mate, s. a companion, whether male or female.

3. Love'-lorn, a. forsaken of one's love.

Glide, v. to move or pass gently without any noise.
Brake, s. a thicket of brambles or thorns.

Pro-fane', a. wicked.

Pi"-ty, s. the quality of feeling the pains of another.

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.

« PreviousContinue »