Welsh Lyrics of the Nineteenth Century Part 9

Here, too, on meadows green which dewy glisten Cl.u.s.ter sweet violets nodding 'neath the breeze, And coronals of light With golden splendour bright Their fragile heads adorn, which seem to listen To merry birds that sing amid the trees.

O happy spot! I fain would linger ever About thy honeyed stillness, mere benign.

Of gazing on thy face I weary never, As fair and full of grace As slumbering infant's face, Or angel features which yet purer shine.

Thy crystal depth with music strange resoundeth, Heard but by those to whom pure souls are given; For unto all on earth Who win the second birth, The whole round world with hidden strings resoundeth, Which endless praise distil to G.o.d in heaven.

A Morning Greeting.

Arise, my beloved! the birds' merry chorus Is heard 'mid the bourgeoning buds of the wold Which smiles on the breast of the valley, while o'er us The sun tips the dewladen branches with gold.

There comes from the meadows the scent of the clover, The banks are all hidden by daisies from sight, Each nook with bright yellow the primroses cover, The trees in the orchards are curtained with white.

O rouse thee, my darling! come look at the swallow Which over the dingle is flying at will; And hark to the song of the thrush in the hollow, And cuckoo's clear cry on the side of the hill.

On high in the heavens the glad lark is trilling The song which he lays at the footstool of morn; My heart with strange gladness his music is thrilling, As down from the sky by the breezes 'tis borne.

Arise, my beloved! the lambs are all springing In frolic enjoyment the meadows among; The stream through the valley its glad song is singing, And the young day laughs lightly its waters along.

A robe of bright azure the clear sky is wearing And bathed are the mountains in myriads of rays, The woodland its harp for the noon is preparing And hark, from its strings bursts a torrent of praise.

O rouse thee, my darling! Come, let us be going, So soft is the breeze and so fragrant the air, New health and new strength through our veins will be flowing, And sorrow will vanish and sadness and care!

O banish the charms with which sloth would ensnare us, Far purer the joy in the sunshine that lurks, All nature her pinions is spreading to bear us, And show us her Maker, revealed in His works.

ROBERT OWEN.

Robert Owen was born near Barmouth March 30th, 1858. The son of a farmer, he was fortunate in attracting the attention of a French gentleman who had taken up his residence in the village and who taught him French, German and Italian. He qualified as a teacher, but the seeds of consumption shewed themselves early, and he sailed, in 1879, for Australia, only to die near Harrow, Victoria, Oct. 23, 1885. His works have never yet been published--if, indeed, he wrote much. The _Llenor_, No. 5 (January 1896), has an interesting article on him.

De Profundis.

Strait, strait and narrow is the vale!

Behind me riseth to the skies What I have been: in front, but dim, What I shall be all shrouded lies, All shrouded by the curtain dark Of mists which from the river rise.

Above, the clouds hide from mine eyes The hosts of heaven.

Strait, strait and barren is the vale!

For here no tender primrose blows, Nor daisy with its simple charm, Nor from the yews which round me close Comes song of thrush--but dismal shriek Of deathbird, scattering as it goes The stillness deep--and pales my cheek With awe unspeakable.

Strait, strait and lonely is the vale!

Only from far falls on my ear The murmur of the world I loved, But death's dark torrent roareth near.

Now 'neath my feet the path I tread Crumbling gives way, and filled with dread Into the waves below I hear The fragments falling.

Strait, strait and hopeless is the vale!

Nor can I evermore regain The days of happiness and health Which once I knew, days free from pain, Nor move a foot from where I stand, And backward eyes of longing strain A moment--ere I leave the land And brave those waters.

Yet strait tho' be the vale and dim, And though the skies are dark and drear, And though the mountains everywhere Rise steep and rugged round me here To bar me out from life! there lives One Star which shineth bright and clear From out the sky and comfort gives To soothe my sadness.

A Prayer.

O my G.o.d, my Friend, my Father, Thou who knowest all the secrets Of man's heart and all his failings-- O forgive me for forgetting All thy loving care towards me, Evil child and disobedient, And for setting up an idol All of earth within thy temple.

And receive from hands unworthy As a sacrifice accepted On Thine altar, Lord a bruised Contrite heart that ever suffers Daily pangs of disappointment Even than death itself more bitter.

Take the one love of a lifetime, All the hopeless love and pa.s.sion Dedicated to another Who with me Thy place had taken, As if they to Thee were rendered.

Count it, Father, as sufficient Chastening, that I must abandon All my hopes my love of winning, All I have of kin and country, All the comforts health bestoweth, And across the sea go seeking All alone a grave 'mid strangers.

O, my G.o.d--for I have suffered, Grant at last Thy peace, Thy blessing.