I'VE seen a Pheasant from a brake Start up, spring forth, and soar on high; Its golden plumage, wide display'd, Splendid, when cowering on the ground; But when upsprung, and stretch'd for flight, Oh, never did my wondering eyes In nature see so fair a sight! THE BIRD CAUGHT AT SEA. Hill. PRETTY little feather'd fellow, Why so far from home dost rove? What misfortune brought thee hither, From the green, embowering grove? Let thy throbbing heart be still, Here secure from danger rest thee; No one here shall use thee ill, Here no cruel boy molest thee. Barley-corns and crumbs of bread, Crystal water, too, shall cheer thee; On soft sails recline thy head, Sleep, and fear no danger near thee. So when kindly winds shall speed us To the land we wish to see, Then, sweet captive, thou shalt leave us, Then amidst the groves be free. WHITHER, 'midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue Thy solitary way? Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight, to do thee wrong, Seek'st thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or maze of river wide, Or where the rocking billows rise and sink There is a Power, whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast, The desert and illimitable air, Lone wandering, but not lost. All day thy wings have fann'd, At that far height, the cool thin atmosphere; And soon thy toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer-home and rest, And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend Loose o'er thy shelter'd nest. Thou'rt gone; th' abyss of heaven Hath swallow'd up thy form; yet, on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. He, who from zone to zone Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright. |