How blest the Solitary's lot, The cavern wild with tangling roots, While praising, and raising His thoughts to heav'n on high, Than I, no lonely hermit plac'd And just to stop, and just to move, The Solitary can despise, Can want, and yet be blest! He needs not, he heeds not, Oh! enviable, early days, When dancing thoughtless pleasure's maze, To care, to guilt unknown! How ill exchang'd for riper times, Of others, or my own! Ye tiny elves that guiltless sport, WINTER. A Dirge. THE wintry west extends his blast, And bird and beast in covert rest, The sweeping blast, the sky o'ercast',' Let others fear, to me more dear Than all the pride of May: The tempest's howl, it soothes my soul, The leafless trees my fancy please, Their fate resembles mine! 1 Dr. Young. Thou, Pow'r Supreme, whose mighty scheme Here, firm, I rest, they must be best, This one request of mine!) THE COTTER'S SATURDAY NIGHT. Inscribed to R. A****, Esq. Let not ambition mock their useful toil, GRAY. My lov'd, my honour'd, much respected friend! The lowly train in life's sequester'd scene; The native feelings strong, the guileless ways; What A**** in a cottage would have been ; Ah! tho' his worth unknown, far happier there, I ween. November chill blaws loud wi' angry sugh; The short'ning winter-day is near a close; The miry beasts retreating frae the pleugh; The black’ning trains o' craws to their repose; The toil-worn Cotter frae his labour goes, At length his lonely cot appears in view, His clean hearth-stane, his thriftie wifie's smile, The lisping infant prattling on his knee, Does a' his weary carking cares beguile, Belyve, the elder bairns come drapping in, Their eldest hope, their Jenny, woman grown, In youthfu' bloom, love sparkling in her ee, Comes hame, perhaps, to shew a braw new gown, Or deposit her sair-won penny-fee, To help her parents dear, if they in hardship be. Wi' joy unfeign'd brothers and sisters meet, An' each for other's welfare kindly spiers: The social hours, swift-wing'd, unnotic'd fleet; Each tells the uncos that he sees or hears; The parents, partial, eye their hopeful years; Anticipation forward points the view. The mother, wi' her needle an' her sheers, Gars auld claes look amaist as weel's the new; The father mixes a' wi' admonition due. Their master's an' their mistress's command, An' mind your duty, duly, morn an' night, Implore his counsel and assisting might: [aright!' They never sought in vain that sought the Lord But hark! a rap comes gently to the door; Jenny, wha kens the meaning o' the same, Tells how a neebor lad cam o'er the moor, To do some errands, and convoy her hame. The wily mother sees the conscious flame Sparkle in Jenny's ee, and flush her cheek; Wi' heart-struck anxious care, inquires his name, While Jenny hafflins is afraid to speak; Weel pleas'd the mother hears, it's nae wild, worthless rake. Wi' kindly welcome Jenny brings him ben; The father cracks of horses, pleughs, and kye. The youngster's artless heart o'erflows wi' joy, But blate and laithfu', scarce can weel behave; The mother, wi' a woman's wiles, can spy What maks the youth sae bashfu' an' sae grave; Weel pleas'd to think her bairn's respected like the lave. O happy love! where love like this is found! And sage experience bids me this declare |