O'er rough and smooth she trips along,
And never looks behind;
And sings a solitary song
That whistles in the wind.
_The IDLE SHEPHERD-BOYS_,
OR
_DUNGEON-GILL FORCE_, [5]
_A PASTORAL_.
[Footnote 5: 'Gill', in the dialect of Cumberland and Westmoreland,
is a short and for the most part a steep narrow valley, with a stream
running through it. Force is the word universally employed in these
dialects for Waterfall.]
I.
The valley rings with mirth and joy,
Among the hills the Echoes play
A never, never ending song
To welcome in the May.
The Magpie chatters with delight;
The mountain Raven's youngling Brood
Have left the Mother and the Nest,
And they go rambling east and west
In search of their own food,
Or thro' the glittering Vapors dart
In very wantonness of Heart.
II.
Beneath a rock, upon the grass,
Two Boys are sitting in the sun;
It seems they have no work to do
Or that their work is done.
On pipes of sycamore they play
The fragments of a Christmas Hymn,
Or with that plant which in our dale
We call Stag-horn, or Fox's Tail
Their rusty Hats they trim:
And thus as happy as the Day,
Those Shepherds wear the time away.
III.
Along the river's stony marge
The sand-lark chaunts a joyous song;
The thrush is busy in the Wood,
And carols loud and strong.
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