The' sanguine sunrise, with his meteor eyes, Which an earthquake rocks and swings, In the light of its golden wings. And when sunset may breathe, from the lit sea beneath, And the crimson pall of eve may fall From the depth of heaven above, With wings folded I rest on mine airy nest, As still as a brooding dove. That orbed maiden, with white fire laden, Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor, And wherever the beat of her unseen feet, May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof, And I laugh to see them whirl and flee, Like a swarm of golden bees, When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent, Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high, I bind the sun's throne with a burning zone, (1) The, &c.-The first eight lines of the stanza represent the cloud in motion in the morning; the last six represent it when motionless in the evening. (2) Sanguine-from the Latin sanguis, blood-of a blood-red colour. (3) Rack-from the Anglo-Saxon, rec-an, to smoke, to cast forth vapours— a vapour, mist, exhalation; sometimes, as here, a body of vapours forming a large cloud. Shakspere's expression, "Leave not a rack behind," is well known. (See p. 284.) (4) Shines dead-i. e. waxes dim or faint; a singular expression. (5) Its ardours of, &c.-its warm sympathies with, &c. (6) I bind, &c.-The whirlwinds unfurling the banner of the clouds-the clouds forming a bridge from mountain to mountain-the triumphal procession beneath the rainbow's arch-are all conceptions of remarkable beauty. The volcanoes are dim, and the stars reel and swim, Sunbeam-proof, I hang like a roof, The mountains its columns be. The triumphal arch through which I march, When the powers of the air are chained to my chair, The sphere-fire' above its soft colours wove, I am the daughter of the earth and water, I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores ; For after the rain, when, with never a stain, The pavilion of heaven is bare, And the winds and sunbeams, with their convex gleams, the blue dome of air I silently laugh at my own cenotaph,2 And out of the caverns of rain, Like a child from the womb, like a ghost from the tomb, I rise and unbuild it again. Shelley. THE MITHERLESS BAIRN.3 WHEN a' ither bairnies are hushed to their hame (1) Sphere-fire-i. e. a light from the spheres, not earthly light. (2) Cenotaph-from the Greek Kɛvós, empty, rápos, tomb-a tomb erected in honour of some one buried elsewhere. In this passage the sky-the proper region of the clouds-being, after the rain, empty of them, seems to be called on this account their cenotaph. (3) This pathetic ballad was written by a poor weaver named Thom, still living at Inverury, in Aberdeenshire. The words not explained here will be found in pp. 76-79. (4) Bairnie-diminutive of bairn, a child. (5) Frecky-eager, ready. (6) Sairly forfairn-sorely distressed, destitute. (7) Dowie-worn out with grief. L The mitherless bairnie creeps to his lane bed, Aneath his cauld brow, siccan dreams hover there, The sister wha sang o'er his saftly rocked bed, Her spirit that passed in yon hour of his birth Oh! speak him na harshly-he trembles the while, Thom. ENGLISH RIVERS." RIVERS, arise! whether thou be the son Or Trent, who, like some earth-born giant, spreads (1) Haps-wraps, covers up. (3) Airn-iron. (2) Hackit heelies-heels chapped with the cold. (4) Litheless-comfortless. (7) Lo'e-love. (5) Siccan-such. (8) Mools-dust. (6) Clutches-i. e.-pulls at his hair. (9) Bannock-barley-cake. (11) On comparing Milton's lines with Pope's, which follow, it will be observed that all the epithets employed by the former individualise the rivers, while Pope's, where they are his own, are frequently vague and general. (12) Thirty arms-The word Trent is here, according to an old tradition, considered as derived from the Latin triginta, thirty, and on this fancy several conceits respecting it were based. Or sullen Mole' that runneth underneath; Or coaly Tyne, or ancient hallowed Dee ;3 4 THE THAMES AND ITS TRIBUTARIES. Milton. Old Father Thames advanced his reverend head : And sullen Mole, that hides his diving flood; Pope. HOME. THERE is a land, of every land the pride, (1) Mole-This river sinks in the summer time into a "subterraneous and invisible channel," between Dorking and Letherhead, in Surrey. For a discussion of the causes of this phenomenon see Brayley's "History of Surrey," vol. i. pp. 175-185. (2) Maiden's death-In allusion to the legend of Sabrina, referred to in "Comus," and detailed in Milton's "History of Britain," book i. (3) Hallowed Dee-so called from its being fabulously considered the haunt of magicians, &c. (See extract from Milton's "Lycidas," p. 299.) (4) Scythian's name-Humber is said to have been the name of a Scythian king, who was drowned in the river. (5) Royal-towered Thame-in allusion to the royal towers of Windsor. (6) Vanalis-the Wandle, a river in Surrey. A land of beauty, virtue, valour, truth, In California's pathless world of woods; Round Andes' heights, where Winter, from his throne, By the gay borders of Bermuda's isles, Where Spring, with everlasting verdure, smiles; (1) Sire, husband-The sire-from the Latin senior, elder, through the French sieur-is the head of the family, the master of the house; husband-from the Anglo-Saxon hus, house, and band, bond-though its meaning is now restricted, had originally the same signification, the bond or support of the house. A man, therefore, as in the above line, may be called a sire in relation to his house and family, and a husband in relation to his wife. (2) An angel-guard, &c.-The reference here to woman in her domestic circle is particularly elegant. |