[Page f.20v]
A Winter's Ramble in Grasmere Vale.
A Stranger, Grasmere, in thy Vale,
All faces then to me unknown,
I left my sole Companion-friend
To wander out alone.
Lured by a little winding path,
Quickly I left the publick road,
A smooth & tempting path it was,
By sheep & shepherds trod.
Eastward, towards the lofty hills
That pathway led me on
Until I reach’d a stately rock
With velvet moss o’ergrown.
With russet oaks, & tufts of fern
Its top was richly garlanded;
Its sides adorned with eglantine,
Bedropp’d with hips of glossy red
And lodged in many a
There, too, in many a sheltered chink
The fox-glove’s broad leaves flourished fair, there
And silver birch whose purple twigs
Bend to the softest breathing air,
And lodged in many a sheltered chink
[Page f.21r]
Beneath that Rock my course I stayed,
And, looking to its summit high,
“Thou wear’st,” said I, “a splendid garb
⟨?⟩ Here Winter keeps his revelry!
⟨Too⟩ Full long a Dweller on the plains,
I grieved when summer days were gone;
No more I’ll grieve for Winter here
Hath pleasure-gardens of his own
What need of flowers? The splendid moss
Is gayer than an April mead,
More rich its hues of varied green
Orange, and gold, and glowing red.”
– Beside that gay & lovely Rock
There came with merry voice
A foaming streamlet glancing by:
It seemed to say “Rejoice!”
My youthful wishes all fulfill’d
Wishes matured by thoughtful choice,
I stood an Inmate of this Vale,
How could I but rejoice?
