Page:Pleasant Memories of Pleasant Lands.djvu/86

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.