button to main menu   West's Guide to the Lakes, 1778/1821

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Page 233:-
With innocence the hour beguiles,
And joys to see another's smiles.
Oh! twere endless to declare
Thy charms, imperial Windermere:
Thy prospects, op'ning to the view,
At ev'ry turn delight renew;
The skimming bark, with feath'ry sail,
Flying before the fresh'ning gale,
While Music's voice in aether floats,
And Echo still prolongs the notes.-
What villas on thy banks arise,
T'arrest the far-exploring eyes;
Their vary'd beauties to rehearse,
Might claim for each a Muse's verse.
- Yet let not praise keep quite aloof
From Rayrig's hospitable roof;
And ever be the spot admir'd,
Where learned Watson lives retir'd,
Like Cincinnatus, tir'd of state,
And factions of the' aspiring great;
Withdrawn from party's fierce alarm,
He daily tends his little farm.
And, oh! had I my utmost will,
I'd dwell on yonder woody hill:
That humble mansion pleases best,
Nam'd from the turtle's peaceful nest.
But, soft - the rustling leaflets sigh,
Responsive, as the breeze moves by,
In solemn accents, trembling, say,
That Storm and Tempest move this way.
From yonder murky, lab'ring cloud,
Hark! Thunder;s voice rebellows loud:
Heav'ns crystal portals open fly,
And lightning blazes through the sky;
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