Sonnet, by the Ettrick Shepherd ;
How sweet when winter, o’er the yarrow rocks,1
Hangs his pale banner, and the speary wood2
Groans to the blast, as if in mustering mood—3
And of the far bare hills pine the sad flocks—4
When the unseen ice-queen all the torrents locks,5
And with fantastic spray-work plays her pranks6
Along Saint Mary’s Lake and Eltrive’s banks,7
And, with cold glittering buds and leaflets, mocks8
The warm and lovely summer—Oh ! How sweet—9
(Now one more moon hath waned like a dream,10
And man is half-forgotten)—come the feet11
Of thy messenger !— thy wizard gleam12
Flashes the world on the lone bard’s retreat,13
And life is in my ears, like a loud stream.14