III. AIR

"Ye brown o'er-arching groves,
That contemplation loves,

Where willowy Camus lingers with delight!

Oft at the blush of dawn

I trod your level lawn,

30

Oft wooed the gleam of Cynthiao silver-bright
In cloisters dim, far from the haunts of Folly,
With Freedom by my side, and soft-eyed Melan-

choly."

IV. RECITATIVE

But hark! the portals sound, and pacing forth 35

With solemn steps and slow,

High potentates, and dames of royal birth,°
And mitred fathers in long order go:

Great Edward, with the lilies on his brow

From haughty Gallia torn,

40

And sad Chatillon, on her bridal morn
That wept her bleeding Love, and princely Clare,

And Anjou's heroine, and the paler rose,

The rival of her crown and of her woes,

And either Henry there,

45

The murdered saint, and the majestic lord
That broke the bonds of Rome.°
(Their tears, their little triumphs o'er,
Their human passions now no more,
Save Charity, that glows beyond the tomb.)

.50 ACCOMPANIED

All that on Granta's fruitful plain° Rich streams of regal bounty poured, And bade these awful fanes and turrets rise, To hail their Fitzroy's festal morning come; And thus they speak in soft accord The liquid language of the skies:

V. QUARTETTO

"What is grandeur, what is power? Heavier toil, superior pain.

55

What the bright reward we gain?
The grateful memory of the good.
Sweet is the breath of vernal shower,
The bee's collected treasures sweet,
Sweet music's melting fall, but sweeter yet
The still small voice of gratitude."

60

VI. RECITATIVE

Foremost and leaning from her golden cloud 65 The venerable Margaret see°!

"Welcome, my noble son, (she cries aloud,)
To this, thy kindred train, and me:

Pleased in thy lineaments we trace
A Tudor's fire, a Beaufort's grace.

،،

AIR

Thy liberal heart, thy judging eye, The flower unheeded shall descry,

70

And bid it round heaven's altars shed
The fragrance of its blushing head:
Shall raise from earth the latent gem
To glitter on the diadem.

75

VII. RECITATIVE

"Lo! Granta waits to lead her blooming band, Not obvious, not obtrusive, she

No vulgar praise, no venial incense flings;
Nor dares with courtly tongue refined

80

Profane thy inborn royalty of mind:

She reveres herself and thee.

With modest pride to grace thy youthful brow,
The laureate wreath, that Cecil wore, she brings,

And to thy just, thy gentle hand,
Submits the fasces of her sway,

While spirits blest above and men below

Join with glad voice the loud symphonious lay.

VIII. GRAND CHORUS

"Through the wild waves as they roar,
With watchful eye and dauntless mien,
Thy steady course of honor keep,
Nor fear the rocks, nor seek the shore:
The star of Brunswick smiles serene,
And gilds the horrors of the deep."

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90

COWPER'S POEMS

THE DIVERTING HISTORY OF JOHN

GILPIN

SHOWING HOW HE WENT FURTHER THAN HE INTENDED, AND CAME SAFE HOME AGAIN

JOHN GILPIN was a citizen

Of credit and renown,
A trainband captain eke was he
Of famous London town.

John Gilpin's spouse said to her dear,
"Though wedded we have been
These twice ten tedious years, yet we
No holiday have seen.

"To-morrow is our wedding-day,
And we will then repair
Unto the Bell at Edmonton,°
All in a chaise and pair.

"My sister, and my sister's child,
Myself, and children three,
Will fill the chaise; so you must ride
On horseback after we."

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10

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