Page:Oxford Book of English Verse 1250-1918.djvu/633

 JAMES HOGG

A land oi love and a land of light, Withoutcn sun, or moon, or night; Where the river t,wa'd a living stream, And the light a pure celestial beam; The land of vision, it would seem, A still, an everlasting dream.

In yon green-wood there is a waik, And in that waik there is a wcne,

And in that wenc there is a maike, That neither has flesh, blood, nor bane; And down in yon green-wood he walks his lane

In that green wene Kilmcny lay, Her bosom happ'd wi' flowerets gay, But the air was soft and the silence deep, And bonnie Kilmeny fell sound asleep. She kennM nae mair, nor open'd her e'e, Till waked by the h} mns of a .far countrye.

She 'waken'd on a couch of the silk ?ac slim, All striped wi' the bars of the rainbow's rim; And lovely beings round were rife, Who erst had travel I'd mortal life, And aye they smiled and 'gan to spccr, What spirit has brought this mortal here' 5 '

'Lang have I journey'd, the world wide,' A meek and reveiend fere replied, 'Baith night and day I have watch'd the fair, Eidcnt a thousand years and mair.

swa'd] swelled. waik] a row of deep damp grass

wene] ?v\hin, a bush niaike] a mate, match, equal. his lane] alone, by himself. happ'd] covered. spcer] inquire feie] fellow. eident] unmteimittently.

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