A prisoner in the yet undawning East, Shortening his journey between morn and

noon,

55

And hurrying him, impatient of his stay,
Down to the rosy west; but kindly still
Compensating his loss with added hours
Of social converse and instructive ease,
And gathering at short notice in one group
The family dispersed, and fixing thought
Not less dispersed by daylight and its cares.
I crown the king of intimate delights,
Fire-side enjoyments, home-born happiness,
And all the comforts that the lowly roof
Of undisturbed retirement, and the hours
Of long uninterrupted evening know.
No rattling wheels stop short before these
gates;

61

65

No powdered, pert proficients in the art
Of sounding an alarm, assault these doors
Till the street rings; no stationary steeds
Cough their own knell, while heedless of
the sound

70

80

With most success when all besides decay.
The poet's or historian's page, by one
Made vocal for the amusement of the rest;
The sprightly lyre, whose treasure of sweet
sounds

The touch from many a trembling chord shakes out;

And the clear voice symphonious, yet distinct,

And in the charming strife triumphant still;
Beguile the night, and set a keener edge 86
On female industry; the threaded steel
Flies swiftly, and unfelt the task proceeds.
The volume closed, the customary rites
Of the last meal commence : a Roman
meal,

90

Such as the mistress of the world once found

Delicious, when her patriots of high note, Perhaps by moonlight, at their humble doors,

And under an old oak's domestic shade, Enjoyed spare feast!-a radish and an

egg.

-

Discourse ensues, not trivial, yet not dull, Nor such as with a frown forbids the play

95

Fruits of omnipotent eternal love: -
Oh, evenings worthy of the gods! exclaimed
The Sabine bard. Oh, evenings, I reply,
More to be prized and coveted than yours,
As more illumined and with nobler truths,
That I, and mine, and those we love, en-
joy.

115

Is Winter hideous in a garb like this? Needs he the tragic fur, the smoke of lamps, The pent-up breath of an unsavory throng To thaw him into feeling, or the smart And snappish dialogue that flippant wits 120 Call comedy, to prompt him with a smile? The self-complacent actor, when he views (Stealing a sidelong glance at a full house) The slope of faces from the floor to the roof,

As if one master-spring controlled them all,

Relaxed into an universal grin,

125

Sees not a countenance there that speaks a joy

Half so refined or so sincere as ours. Cards were superfluous here, with all the tricks

The silence and the warmth enjoyed within!
I saw the woods and fields at close of day
A variegated show; the meadows green
Though faded, and the lands, where lately
waved

The golden harvest, of a mellow brown, 195
Upturned so lately by the forceful share;
I saw far off the weedy fallows smile
With verdure not unprofitable, grazed
By flocks fast feeding, and selecting each
His favorite herb; while all the leafless
groves

200

That skirt the horizon wore a sable hue,
Scarce noticed in the kindred dusk of eve.
To-morrow brings a change, a total change,
Which even now, though silently performed
And slowly, and by most unfelt, the face 205
Of universal nature undergoes.
Fast falls a fleecy shower; the downy flakes,
Descending and with never-ceasing lapse
Softly alighting upon all below,

Assimilate all objects. Earth receives 210
Gladly the thickening mantle, and the green
And tender blade, that feared the chilling
blast,

Escapes unhurt beneath so warm a veil.

Poor, yet industrious, modest, quiet, neat, Such claim compassion in a night like this, And have a friend in every feeling heart. Warmed while it lasts, by labor, all day long

They brave the season, and yet find at eve, Ill clad and fed but sparely, time to cool. 260 The frugal housewife trembles when she lights

Her scanty stock of brushwood, blazing clear,

But dying soon, like all terrestrial joys;

The few small embers left she nurses well. And while her infant race with outspread hands

265

And crowded knees sit cowering o'er the sparks,

Retires, content to quake, so they be warmed.

Plaintive and piteous, as it wept and wailed Its wasted tones and harmony unheard; 361 Fierce the dispute, whate'er the theme; while she,

Fell Discord, arbitress of such debate, Perched on the sign-post, holds with even hand

Her undecisive scales. In this she lays 365
A weight of ignorance, in that, of pride,
And smiles delighted with the eternal poise.
Dire is the frequent curse and its twin sound
The cheek-distending oath, not to be praised
As ornamental, musical, polite,
Like those which modern senators employ,
Whose oath is rhetoric, and who swear for
fame.

370