T. DAVISON, Lombard-street, Whitefriars, London.

POEMS

OF THE IMAGINATION

CONTINUED.

VOL. II.

B

XVIII.

TO A HIGHLAND GIRL.

(At Inversneyde, upon Loch Lomond.)

SWEET Highland Girl, a very shower

Of beauty is thy earthly dower!

Twice seven consenting years have shed
Their utmost bounty on thy head:

And these gray Rocks; this household Lawn;
These Trees, a veil just half withdrawn ;

This fall of water, that doth make

A murmur near the silent Lake;

This little Bay, a quiet Road
That holds in shelter thy Abode;

In truth together ye do seem

Like something fashioned in a dream;

Such Forms as from their covert peep
When earthly cares are laid asleep!

Yet, dream and vision as thou art,
I bless thee with a human heart:
God shield thee to thy latest years!
I neither know thee nor thy peers;
And yet my eyes are filled with tears.

With earnest feeling I shall pray
For thee when I am far away:

For never saw I mien, or face,

In which more plainly I could trace
Benignity and home-bred sense
Ripening in perfect innocence.

Here, scattered like a random seed,
Remote from men, Thou dost not need

The embarrassed look of shy distress,

And maidenly shamefacedness:

Thou wear'st upon thy forehead clear
The freedom of a Mountaineer.
A face with gladness overspread!
Sweet looks, by human kindness bred!
And seemliness complete, that sways

Thy courtesies, about thee plays;
With no restraint, but such as springs

From quick and eager visitings