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

THE WANDERER.
Told, that the hapless child was he
Of genius, and of — misery !
The rustic well the youth surveyed,
And, wondering, waited his behest,
Who, unaccustomed rev'rence paid,
And thus his plaintive tale expressed :■
" Lone dweller in the forest glade,
Where peace and blest contentment smile,
To thee my random steps have strayed
O'er many a long and dreary mile.
Nor do I grudge my ardent toil
To meet with all my heart desired,
Since, prompted by the musing maid,
Prospective fame my bosom fired.
For, lo ! while yet a cherished boy,
Mine artless lyre was all my joy ;
But manhood led me forth to strife,
And then I sighed for such a life
As Nature's favoured children know,
Whose days and years so smoothly flow
In woods and wilds — in nameless bliss —
Good tmth ! in such a scene as this.