_TO A YOUNG LADY_,
    Who had been reproached for taking long
    Walks in the Country.


  Dear Child of Nature, let them rail!
  --There is a nest in a green dale,
  A harbour and a hold,
  Where thou a Wife and Friend, shalt see
  Thy own delightful days, and be
  A light to young and old.

  There, healthy as a Shepherd-boy,
  As if thy heritage were joy,
  And pleasure were thy trade,
  Thou, while thy Babes around thee cling,
  Shalt shew us how divine a thing
  A Woman may be made.

  Thy thoughts and feelings shall not die,
  Nor leave thee, when grey hairs are nigh,
  A melancholy slave
  But an old age, alive and bright,
  And lovely as a Lapland night,
  Shall lead thee to thy grave.
  "--_Pleasure is spread through the earth
  In stray gifts to be claim'd by whoever shall find_."

Home.
Mystery destination!

(Tuesday, 25 August, 2026.)