The Thames. 79 THE THAMES. THIS scene, how rich from Thames's side, And 'mid the masts and cordage gleam; Blaze on the roofs with turrets crown'd, And gild green pastures stretch'd around, And gild the slope of that high ground Whose corn-fields bright the prospect bound! The white sails glide along the shore, And wide their various freight convey; But here, while these the sight allure, 80 The Tempestuous Evening. To view the pine-grove on the hill, Or alders crowding o'er the hill. SCOTT THE TEMPESTUOUS EVENING. THERE'S grandeur in this sounding storm, Beneath the blast the forests bend, Whose caverns echo to their roar. The Pleasant Evening. But can my soul the scene enjoy That rends another's breast with pain? O, hapless he, who near the main, Now sees its billowy rage destroy! Beholds the found'ring bark descend, Nor knows but what its fate may end The moments of his dearest friend! 81 SCOTT. THE PLEASANT EVENING. DELIGHTFUL looks this clear calm sky, Delightful looks this smooth green ground, And now along the echoing hills The night-bird's strain melodious trills; And now the echoing dale along Soft flows the shepherd's tuneful song ; 82 Description of a Cottage. And now, wide o'er the water borne, And varied warbling of the deep-ton'd horn. SCOTT. DESCRIPTION OF A COTTAGE. WHERE o'er the brook's moist margin hazels meet, Stands my lone home-a pleasant cool retreat. Gay loosestrife there, and pale valerian spring, And tuneful reed-birds, mid the sedges sing. Among green oziers winds my stream away, Where the blue halcyon skims from spray to spray, Where waves the bulrush as the waters glide, And yellow flag-flowers deck the sunny side. East from my cottage stretch delightful meads, Where rows of willows rise, and banks of reeds; There roll clear rivers; there, old elms between, The mill's white roof, and circling wheels are seen. SCOTT. The Hare and Tortoise; a Fable. 83 ANOTHER. On a green hillock, by the shady road, Along my wall the yellow stonecrop grows, And the red houseleek on my brown thatch blows. Spread on the slope of yon steep western hill, My fruitful orchard shelters all the vill; There pear-trees tall their tops aspiring show, And apple-trees their branches mix below. SCOTT. THE HARE AND TORTOISE. A FABLE. A FORWARD hare of swiftness vain, 4 |