Page:Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands.djvu/86

Rh That each upon his feudal seat maintains

Strict sovereignty, hast thou a tale of love

For gentle Grassmere, that thou thus dost droop

Thy plumed helmet o'er her, and peruse,

With such a searching gaze, her placid brow?

She listeneth coyly, and her guileless depths

Are troubled at a tender thought from thee.

And yet, methinks some speech of love should dwell

In scenes so beautiful. For not in vain,

Nor with a feeble voice, doth He, who spread

Such glorious charms, bespeak man's kindliness

For all whom He hath made, bidding the heart

Grasp every creature with a warm embrace

Of brotherhood.

Lo! what fantastic forms,

In sudden change are traced upon the sky.

The sun doth subdivide himself, and shine

On either side of an elongate cloud,

Which, like an alligator huge and thin,

Piercest his disk. And then an ostrich seems

Strangely to perch upon a wreath of foam,

And gaze disdainful on the kingly orb,

That lay o'erspent and weary. But he roused

Up as a giant, and the welkin glowed

With rushing splendor, while his puny foes

Vanished in air. Old England's oaks outstretched

Their mighty arms, and took that cloudless glance

Into their bosoms, as a precious thing

To be remembered long.