Unconfined, without limits or bounds. Echo, the repetition of a sound from some object. and afterwards es Did ye not hear it? No; 'twas but the wind, 10 To chase the glowing hours with flying feet. As if the clouds its echo * would repeat; And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before- Which ne'er might be repeated. Who could 25 If ever more should meet those mutual eyes, Since upon night so sweet such awful morn could rise? * And there was mounting in hot haste: the steed, The war-note of Lochiel,* which Albyn's * hills Their mountain-pipe, so fill the mountaineers * caped to France with And Evan's, Donald's fame rings in each 45 Prince Charles Ed ward. clansman's ears. * And Ardennes waves above them her green Ardennes, the forest leaves, Dewy with nature's tear-drops, as they pass, 50 Ere evening to be trodden like the grass, or wood which lies Inanimate, without And burning with high hope, shall moulder* cold Moulder, to crumble and low ! 55 Last noon beheld them full of lusty life; The midnight brought the signal-sound of strife; 60 The thunder-clouds close o'er it-which when The earth is covered thick with other clay, * into dust. Marshalling, arrang ing in order for battle. Rent, divided. Pent, packed to gether. pent; Rider and horse, friend, foe, in one red burial blent.* together. 5 LINES ADDRESSED TO HIS MOTHER'S PICTURE. W. Cowper. OH that those lips * had language! Life hath Those lips. The poet passed was looking at a picture of his mother which had been sent With me but roughly since I heard thee last. see, The same that oft in childhood solaced * me; * Solaced, cheered, child; chase all thy fears Intelligence, skill, * The meek intelligence * of those dear eyes * understanding. Art, the art of painting. Immortalise, lasting for ever, here means the lasting property 10 To quench it!) here shines on me still the of the picture. same. Faithful remembrancer* of one so dear! Tyrannic claim, when the hour of a person's death arrives, Time, like a tyrant, will take no excuse. Remembrancer, something to remind us. of. Wretch, &c., he began to taste the miseries of life even when a child. In bliss, perfect happiness. Maternal, belonging to a mother. * I will obey, not willingly alone, A momentary dream that thou art she. My mother! when I learned that thou wast * * 15 20 Conscious, to be aware Say, wast thou conscious* of the tears I shed? Adieu, good-bye. Peaceful shore. The ancients thought that the soul must pass over a river to get to the next world. Maidens, female servants. fretting and sorrow. Oft cern," * * * 30 35 40 gave me promise of thy quick return : My concern, at my What ardently I wished, I long believed, And, disappointed still, was still deceived; By expectation every day beguiled, Dupe of to-morrow even from a child. Thus many a sad to-morrow came and went, Till, all my stock* of infant sorrow spent, I learned at last submission to my lot,* But, though I less deplored thee, ne'er forgot. 45 Where once we dwelt our name is heard no Bauble, a gay showy article, not having Pastoral house, the Rectory of Berkhampstead, where Cowper was born; a clergy. man's dwelling. Short-lived possession, the poet and his much real value. parents lived there but a short time. Effaced, blotted or worn out. Children not thine have trod my nursery-floor; own. Short-lived possession!* but the record fair That memory keeps of all thy kindness there 55 Themes, the subjects Still outlives many a storm that has effaced * A thousand other themes less deeply traced. a person thinks of or writes about. Thy nightly visits to my chamber made, 60 Thy morning bounties* ere I left my home, * * The fragrant waters on my cheeks bestowed Bounties, gifts, pre sents. Confectionery plum, a plum prepared with sugar. Fragrant, sweetsmelling. Knew no fall, was All this, and more endearing still than all, 65 Thy constant flow of love, that knew no fall,* Ne'er roughened by those cataracts and breaks always the same. That humour interposed too often makes: * * All this, still legible in Memory's page, And still to be so to my latest age, 70 Adds joy to duty, makes me glad to pay Such honours to thee as my numbers * Perhaps a frail * memorial,* but sincere— Not scorned in heaven, though little noticed here. may; Could Time, his flight reversed, restore the 75 When, playing with thy vesture's tissued flowers,* * * The violet, the pink, and jessamine,* I prick'd them into paper with a pin So Could those few pleasant hours again appear, them here? I would not trust my heart; the dear delight Seems so to be desired, perhaps I might. But no; what here we call our life is such, 85 So little to be loved, and thou so much, That I should ill requite* thee to constrain Thy unbound spirit* into bonds again. Thou, as a gallant bark from Albion's* coast (The storms all weathered, and the ocean crossed) 90 Shoots into port at some well-favoured isle, Where spices breathe and brighter seasons smile, Cataracts and breaks, a waterfall, making a great noise and disturbance, as a person does when giving way to passion. Humour, one's whim or fancy. Legible, plain, distinct. Numbers, verses, poetry. Frail, not strong, small. Memorial, something to assist the memory. Tissued flowers, flowers woven in the dress. Violet and jessamine, small flowers which are prized on account of their sweet smell. Ill requite, badly repay. To constrain, to com pel, to force back. Unbound spirit, free from the earthly body. Albion, the name by which England was known in olden times. Quiescent, quiet, in a state of repose. There sits quiescent* on the floods, that show husband or wife. So thou, with sails how swift, hast reached the Where tempests never beat nor billows roar, * Consort, a companion, And thy loved consort on the dangerous tide Devious, wandering, out of the right way. Thwarting, hindering, defeating. Pretensions, claims. Wonted, usual. Sails ripped, seams opening wide, and com pass lost, And day by day some current's thwarting force * 100 Sets me more distant from a prosp'rous course. 105 he!- * IIO That thought is joy, arrive what may to me. Deduce, to come from. My boast is not that I deduce* my birth From loins enthroned, and rulers of the earth; But higher far my proud pretensions * riseThe son of parents passed into the skies. And now, farewell! Time unrevoked has run His wonted course, yet what I wished is done. By contemplation's help, not sought in vain, I seem to have lived my childhood o'er again,— 115 To have renewed the joys that once were mine, Without the sin of violating * thine; And, while the wings of Fancy still are free, And I can view this mimic show* of thee, Time has but half succeded in his theftThyself removed, thy power to soothe me left. meditation. Violating, injuring. Mimic show, an imitation show, here meaning the picture. 120 Delaware flows 300 miles from its source in the Catskill mountains to Delaware Bay. Sylvan, wooded. Penn, the founder of Quakers in 1682 in one's native country. EVANGELINE.-Longfellow. In that delightful land which is washed by the * Guarding in sylvan* shades the name of Penn * Stands on the banks of its beautiful stream There from the troubled sea had Evangeline Finding among the children of Penn a home 5 |