Hew Morrison Collection > Minor poems, and translations, in verse

(H THE WANDERER.
THE WA^^DERER.
AX ILLUSTRATION OF A POPULAR SYMPATHY.
Emcower'd within a pathless wood,
A place of shade and solitude,
Where crowded many an ancient oak,
And many a wild-flower bloomed unseen,
And only birds, and riv'lets broke
The stillness of the holy scene —
A peasant dwelt ; — a hardy man,
Whose cheerful task it was to scan
The precincts of a rich domam,
Protect the forest's antlered train.
And, bending o'er the rooted soil,
To ply the axe — romantic toil !
To him a weary youth once came,
Of wasted form and weakly frame :
His vestments sad, yet trim and clean.
The measured step, and solemn mein.
The fallen cheek, and languid eye,
The upward look, and frequent sigh,