And, sitting by my fire, I see Eight sorry Carts, no less a train ! Come straggling through the wind and rain: See, perched upon the naked height Another then perhaps a Pair — The lame, the sickly, and the old; Thy shelter - and their Mother's breast! Then most of all, then far the most, Do I regret what we have lost; Am grieved for that unhappy sin I. A MORNING EXERCISE. • FANCY, who leads the pastimes of the glad, Becomes an echo of Man's misery. Blithe Ravens croak of death; and when the Owl Tries his two voices for a favourite strain — Tu-whit Tu-whoo! the unsuspecting fowl Forebodes mishap, or seems but to complain; Fancy, intent to harass and annoy, Can thus pervert the evidence of joy. Through border wilds where naked Indians stray, Myriads of notes attest her subtle skill; A feathered Task-master cries "WORK AWAY!" * See Waterton's Wanderings in South America. What wonder? at her bidding, ancient lays The daisy sleeps upon the dewy lawn, Hail, blest above all kinds! - Supremely skilled Restless with fixed to balance, high with low, Thou leav'st the Halcyon free her hopes to build On such forbearance as the deep may show ; Perpetual flight, unchecked by earthly ties, Leav'st to the wandering Bird of Paradise. Faithful, though swift as lightning, the meek Dove; Yet more hath Nature reconciled in thee; So constant with thy downward eye of love, So humble, yet so ready to rejoice In power of wing and never-wearied voice! |