Classic Poem

AIR — In Country Quarters close confined.

When the last leaf forsook the tree,
And languid suns were seen,
And winter whistl'd o'er the lea,
And call'd the sportsmen keen;
The goddess of the silver bow
Stept forth, her sandals tipp'd with snow.
Fal, lall, &c.

Her beauteous nymphs rang'd by her side,
While hounds surround her horn; —
Stop here, my woodland train, she cried,
Till welcom'd by the morn;
See yonder comes the blushing fair,
We'll soon hunt down her leading star.
Fal, lall, &c.

A stag for long kept up the chase,
But now at bay he stood;
A nymph, of more than mortal race,
Rush'd eager from the wood: —
" I come to set the prisoner free! "
Then waved the cap of Liberty.
Fal, lall, &c.

Diana, smiling, took her hand:
" Where has my sister staid?
What hapless sons in foreign land
Demand her dauntless aid? "
" A city, once well known to fame,
Has struggl'd hard to keep my name:
Fal, lall, &c.

" A few brave sons protect it now,
The bulwark of the laws;
While I come here to ask of you
To aid the glorious cause;
My daughters are like snowdrops seen,
All dress'd in white and trimm'd with green. "
Fal, lall, &c.

They hasted to the social ball,
Good humour met them there;
Diana's arrows Cupid stole
And aim'd them at the fair:
" Her train has yet escap'd my arts,
But now I shoot with Dian's darts:
Fal, lall, &c.

" Yon lucid eye shall drop a tear —
That haughty heart shall bleed —
And many moons shall round the year
Ere I repent the deed. "
But Hymen heard, and with a smile,
Declar'd he'd hover round Carlisle.
Fal, lall, &c.