And, in the various conversation, bore
A willing, nay, at times, a forward part;
Yet with the grace of one who in the world
Had learned the art of pleasing, and had now
Occasion given him to display his skill,
Upon the steadfast 'vantage ground of truth.
He gazed with admiration unsuppressed
Upon the landscape of the sun-bright vale,
Seen, from the shady room in which we sate,
In softened perspective; and more than once
Praised the consummate harmony serene
Of gravity and elegance diffused
Around the Mansion and its whole domain; Not, doubtless, without help of female taste And female care. "A blessed lot is yours!" The words escaped his lip with a tender sigh Breathed over them ; — but suddenly the door Flew open, and a pair of lusty Boys
Appeared confusion checking their delight.
Not Brothers they in feature or attire,
But fond Companions, so I guessed, in field,
And by the river's margin - whence they come,
Anglers elated with unusual spoil.
One bears a willow-pannier on his back,
The Boy of plainer garb, whose blush survives
More deeply tinged. Twin might the other be
To that fair Girl who from the garden Mount
Bounded- triumphant entry this for him.
Between his hands he holds a smooth blue stone,
On whose capacious surface see outspread
Large store of gleaming crimson-spotted trouts ;
Ranged side by side, and lessening by degrees
Up to the dwarf that tops the pinnacle.
Upon the Board he lays the sky-blue stone
With its rich freight; - their number he proclaims;
Tells from what pool the noblest had been dragged;
And where the very monarch of the brook,
After long struggle, had escaped at last
Stealing alternately at them and us
(As doth his Comrade too) a look of pride.
And, verily, the silent Creatures made
A splendid sight, together thus exposed;
Dead—but not sullied or deformed by Death,
That seemed to pity what he could not spare.
But O, the animation in the mien
Of those two Boys! Yea in the very words
With which the young Narrator was inspired,
When, as our questions led, he told at large
Of that day's prowess! Him might I
His look, tones, gestures, eager eloquence,
To a bold Brook that splits for better speed,
And, at the self-same moment, works its way
Through many channels, ever and anon
Parted and reunited: his Compeer
To the still Lake, whose stillness is to sight
As beautiful, as grateful to the mind.
But to what object shall the lovely Girl
Be likened? She whose countenance and air
Unite the graceful qualities of both,
Even as she shares the pride and joy of both.
My grey-haired Friend was moved; his vivid eye Glistened with tenderness; his Mind, I knew, Was full; and had, I doubted not, returned, Upon this impulse, to the theme - erewhile Abruptly broken-off. The ruddy Boys
Withdrew, on summons to their well-earned meal;
And He (to whom all tongues resigned their rights'
With willingness, to whom the general ear
Listened with readier patience than to strain
Of music, lute or harp, — a long delight
That ceased not when his voice had ceased) as One Who from truth's central point serenely views
The compass of his argument, began
Mildly, and with a clear and steady tone.
DISCOURSE OF THE WANDERER, &c.
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