| Share page |
|
126 |
BYGONE SUSSEX |
||
|
Above the world of men, dissolved in thee, A joy thy joy serene my bosom fills,
And claim I son-ship, mindless of ' the ills The flesh is heir to,' nought is now to me Than the primeval sward, and sky and sea, Boundless—as thy companionship instils ;
O Mother Nature ! melt my heart in thine, O Mother Nature ! I in thee am lost,
0 Mother Nature ! own me as thy child; Why know I this sublimity divine,
If not from thee ? me take at any cost !
1 had not loved so if thou hadst not smiled.
Worthing.
Here, it would seem, poor Robert Bloomfield, the author of the " Farmer's Bay," had his first view of the sea. There is a pleasant natural enthusiasm about these verses.
Are these the famed, the brave South Downs,
That like a chain of pearls appear;
Their pale green sides and graceful crowns
To freedom, thought, and peace, how dear !
To freedom, for no fence is seen ;
To thought, for silence smooths the way ;
To peace, for o'er the boundless green
Unnumbered flocks and shepherds stray.
Now, now we've gained the utmost height: Where shall we match the vale below ? The Weald of Sussex, glorious sight, Old Chankbury, from the tufted brow. |
|||