Or with a less uneasy lustre shine ;
Thou shrink'st as momently thy rays
Are mastered by the breathing haze;
While neither mist, nor thickest cloud
That shapes in Heaven its murky shroud,
Hath power to injure mine.

Yet not for this do I aspire
To match the spark of local fire,
That at my will burns on the dewy lawn,
With thy acknowledged glories ; - No!
But it behoves that thou shouldst know
What favours do attend me here,
Till, like thyself, I disappear
Before the purple dawn.”

When this in modest guise was said,
Across the welkin seemed to spread
A boding sound - for aught but sleep unfit!
Hills quaked - the rivers backward ran -
That Star, so proud of late, looked wan;
And reeled with visionary stir
In the blue depth, like Lucifer
Cast headlong to the pit !

Fire raged, - and when the spangled floor
Of ancient ether was no more,
New heavens succeeded, by the dream brought

forth :
And all the happy souls that rode
Transfigured through that fresh abode,
Had heretofore, in humble trust,
Shone meekly mid their native dust,
The Glow-worms of the earth!

This knowledge, from an Angel's voice
Proceeding, made the heart rejoice
Of Him who slept upon the

lea:
Waking at morn he murmured not;
And, till life's journey closed, the spot
Was to the Pilgrim's soul endeared,
Where by that dream he had been cheered
Beneath the shady tree.

XIX.

STRAY PLEASURES.

Pleasure is spread through the earth
In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.”

By their floating Mill,

Which lies dead and still, Behold

yon

Prisoners three ! The Miller with two Dames, on the breast of the

Thames; The Platform is small, but gives room for them all; And they're dancing merrily.

From the shore come the notes

To their Mill where it floats, To their House and their Mill tethered fast; To the small wooden Isle where, their work to

beguile, They from morning to even take whatever is given ;And many a blithe day they have past.

In sight of the Spires,

All alive with the fires
Of the Sun going down to his rest,

In the broad open eye of the solitary sky,
They dance, there are three, as jocund as free,
While they dance on the calm river's breast.

Man and Maidens wheel,

They themselves make the Reel, And their Music's a prey which they seize; It plays not for them, — what matter ! 'tis theirs ; And if they had care it has scattered their cares, While they dance, crying, “ Long as ye please!"

They dance not for me,

Yet mine is their glee ! Thus pleasure is spread through the earth In stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find; Thus a rich loving-kindness, redundantly kind, Moves all nature to gladness and mirth.

The Showers of the Spring

Rouze the Birds, and they sing ; If the Wind do but stir for his proper delight, Each Leaf, that and this, his neighbour will kiss ; Each Wave, one and t'other, speeds after his

brother; They are happy, for that is their right!

XX.

THE KITTEN,

AND

THE FALLING LEAVES.

That way look, my Infant, lo !
What a pretty baby show!
See the Kitten on the Wall,
Sporting with the leaves that fall,
Withered leaves - one - two - and three –
From the lofty Elder-tree !
Through the calm and frosty air
Of this morning bright and fair
Eddying round and round they sink
Softly, slowly: one might think,
From the motions that are made,
Every little leaf conveyed
Sylph or Faery hither tending, -
To this lower world descending,