We cross'd Dalwhinnie's dismal moor,
And pass'd the Lodge's well-known door;
Then boldly took our vent'rous way
Thro' torrent-swell'd impetuous Spey.
But who can tell my agitation,
Or paint my joyful perturbation,
When all the family are seen
Assembled in the court so green?
While JOHN and DUNCAN ran before
To meet us at the stable door;
. Fair CHARLOTTE slowly graceful moving,
Next clasp'd me in embrace so loving;
While CATHARINE, thro' her shadowy locks,
Looks like a mermaid from the rocks;
With little CHARLOTTE tripping neatly,
And ANNE LOUISA Smiling sweetly,
Whose dark-blue eyes that beam intelligence
Survey my face with anxious diligence;
Each well known feature recollecting,
Her speechless joy was so affecting,
When with a sigh, the tender blossom
Her harmless face hid in my bosom.
Now ANNE, and JANE, and MARY WHANGLE,
With JANET, form a fair quadrangle,
And make the eastern corner rich in
The humble beauties of the kitchen:
Even ANDREW's self, half pleas'd the while,
Seems soften'd to a surly smile,
While Aster wagg'd his hoary tail *,
To bid his long-lov'd master hail;
One glimpse of joy before he dies
Gleams faintly thro' his misty eyes:
Oh! had some brutes that boast reflection,
His courage, honesty, affection,
Like Aster they might live contented,
And die by faithful friends lamented.
Pleas'd with a groupe so kind and charming, I gaz'd, my heart with rapture warming, While Fancy, blazing like a torch, Produc'd this sonnet in the porch.
DEAR, lowly cottage! o'er whose humble thatch
The dewy moss has velvet verdure spread;
Once more, with trem❜lous hands, thy ready latch
I lift, and to thy lintel bow my head.
A dog near twenty years old, much regarded by the fa mily, and a great favourite with his master.
Dear are thy inmates! beauty's roseate smile*,
And eye soft melting hail my wish'd return,-
Loud clamours infant joy; around meanwhile
Maturer breasts with silent rapture burn.
Within these narrow bounds I reign secure,
And duteous love and prompt obedience find;
Nor sigh to view my destiny obscure,
(Where all is lowly, but each owner's mind Content), if pilgrims passing by our cell,
"with her sister Peace there Virtue loves to dwell!"
I thank you Muse for aid so clever,
And now I've done with you
This effort of expiring fancy
Was only meant to please my NANCY :
Simplicity, and truth, and ease,
Of old, I know, can NANCY please;
For trust me, sure as I'm a sinner,
I've try'd no other charms to win her.
And that she has been won, is true,
And prov'd by facts both old and new.
* Alluding to a young lady of uncommon beauty and elegance of person and mind, who then resided in the family.
In friendship's annals no example
Appears, but one, of such a sample,
And that shall charm each distant age,
In SHAKESPEARE's ever living page:
When ties of firmest friendship bind
Her faithful soul to ROSALIND,
Bright CELIA quits the splendid court,
Where ease and luxury resort,
And wanders many a weary mile
To share her friend's remote exile:
The long and painful journey past,
On Arden's gloomy verge at last,
Safe shelter'd in the lowly cot,
She shares her friend's oblivious lot,
Her humble toils and homely fare,
And cheers with smiles her daily care.
Blest be thy memory, princely maid !
And never may those laurels fade,
Which SHAKESPEARE round thy tomb has twin'd,
Fair boast and wonder of thy kind!
Proud man, elate in contradiction,
Cries, "What avails the pleasing fiction?".
Turn, infidel, and view my NANCY,
No creature of poetic fancy,
No dream of musing solitude,
But veritable flesh and blood!
No slip-shod Sybil of a Muse
Who gazes while her pen she chews:
And "glancing quick from earth to heaven,"
Leaves earthly cares at six and seven ;
But one who thinks and acts in season,
The child of probity and reason!
Whose sparkling wit, and polish'd graces,
With wonder fill'd those uncouth places :
While hum'rous lively freaks are mixt,
Her principles as Atlas fixt,
With steady judgment, quick decision,
That hits the joint of true division:
And self-denial, as a helm,
Which serves to steer her little realm,
And teach her, faithful to her trust,
To be both generous and just!
Thus grac'd with worth which all commend,
The model of a constant friend,
Which, without show or vain pretence,
Includes all human excellence;
From gaudy fashion's glittering shrine,
Where art and fancy jointly shine;
From the gay precincts of Soho,
From ease, and elegance, and show,
With cordial haste behold her fly,
The big tear trembling in her eye,
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