Page:Poems and extracts - Wordsworth.djvu/25



Lady, I rifled a Parnassian Cave (But seldom trod) of mildly-gleaming ore; And cull'd, from sundry beds, a lucid store Of genuine crystals, pure as those that pave The azure brooks where Dian joys to lave Her spotless limbs; and ventured to explore Dim shades—for reliques, upon Lethe's shore, Cast up at random by the sullen wave. To female hands the treasures were resign'd And lo! this work—a grotto bright—and clear From stain or taint, in which thy blameless mind May feed on thoughts tho' pensive not austere; And if thy deeper spirit be inclined To holy musings, it may enter here. ————Author:William Wordsworth Rydal Mount Dec. 21, 1819. B