DEEP in a solitary glen,
Far from the cheerful haunts of men;
By poverty opprest, and taught
The lonely task of silent thought,
A shepherd liv’d: a surly wight
As ever pac’d the mountain’s height.
He was as cold, and eke as gray
As morning on a winter-day:
And gloomy as November’s sky,
Old Simon mark’d life’s shadows fly;
And often, from the mountain’s side,
The manor-house old Simon spied–
The rich domains of corn, and fields,
And all that smiling Nature yields;
And often, as he look’d, he sigh’d,
That Heav’n to him such gifts denied !
The Squire had mark’d the ancient swain,
And felt compassion for his pain:
For not like many squires was he,
Too grand to hear, too high to see !
He was not deaf, when sorrow sigh’d,
Nor blind, when poverty met pride;
Nor did he think the honest poor
Too low to pass his lofty door.
He was a squire, as fame records,
Worth twenty squires–nay, twenty lords !
A squire the Muse would proudly sing,
Had Heaven design’d him for–a king !
This Squire (or so the story’s told)
Was fond of fashions somewhat old:
Such as in good Queen BESS’S days,
Bought something more than servile praise;
Such as won hearts and made them gay
With many a cheerful holiday.–
He did not, when the winter came,
Cheer his old tenants with–a name :
He did not fly from Christmas fare
To feast with empty fools–elsewhere:
He did not let his steward play
The tyrant of his little day;
While at the gaming-table he
A very vassal chose to be:
He did not leave his wife at home,
With other wives abroad to roam;
And, while she squander’d thousands, snore,
And dream of–losing thousands more:
He did not give to fools a treat,
While Genius had not bread to eat !
Oft at the gate, that open stood
To travellers, through a neighbouring wood
He mark’d old Simon: (for, beside
The gate, a brook was seen to glide;
And there, beneath an alder’s shade,
Simon, each morn, his breakfast made.)
And often, at the noon of day,
He watch’d him pace the sultry way:
At ev’nings’ hour he saw him tread
The bleak hill to his rushy shed;
And oft he heard him loud deplore
That he was old, and weak, and poor.
The Squire, who felt he was A MAN ,
Revolv’d in silence Nature’s plan:
He felt that wealth, and pride, and pow’r,
Were treasures of a transient hour;
That Chance allotted to his care
What Reason meant for all to share:
He felt that he was nothing more
Than the old shepherd, weak and poor,
Excepting by the dross which Heav’n,
For useful purposes, had giv’n.
Near the large manor-house, a cot
Was doom’d to mend old Simon’s lot:
The Squire proposed that straightway he
The tenant of this cot should be.–
Simon was thankful;–“Yet,” said he,
“If I’d a little shrubbery,–
“A bit of garden, full of flow’rs
“Would charm away my summer hours:
“And oft, amidst o’erhanging trees,
“I might enjoy the cooling breeze.”
The Squire complies, and ’round the cot
A young plantation grac’d the spot.—-
Now, Simon wish’d a brook were seen,
Gliding the shady maze between:–
And, from the torrent’s rushing way,
A little rill was taught to stray
For still the Squire his humour pleas’d,
And Simon’s varying fancy seiz’d.—-
Simon was grateful: yet he swore
He’d be content with one thing more;–
A little field, enclos’d and fair,
Where he might breathe the morning air.
The ground was fenc’d !—-He wish’d to keep
‘A cow, and half-a-dozen sheep.’
And still the kind good-natur’d Squire
Indulg’d him in his heart’s desire.—-
Thus favour’d, still he was inclin’d
To bear a discontented mind:
‘The wind was nipping,’ and he found
‘The cottage stood on Northern ground:
‘The soil was coarse, and bleak the air,
‘And loud the tempest rattled there:
‘The field was scarcely large enough
‘To plant the needful garden stuff.’
(And he was fond of Nature’s store ,
Therefore his field was planted o’er !)
‘The brook, at times, would overflow;
‘And the trees, waving to and fro,
‘Disturb’d his rest: the cow and sheep
‘Would stray along the upland steep;
‘And he was old, and could not bear
‘The endless toil of watching there.’
Now, to the manor-house remov’d,
Old Simon ev’ry comfort prov’d.—-
Yet he grew sick, and every day
He found his spirits waste away:
He wanted company; he sigh’d
That freedom was to him denied;–
He found that indolence and ease
An active soul can never please;
That labour only could dispense
The glow of fervor o’er his sense,
Which apathy could never know,
Nor splendid luxury bestow:
He also found that oft the Squire
Would mention this and that desire;
Would hint that Simon should not be
Unthankful for his destiny;
That few had known a change so sweet,
And fewer still such friends would meet;
Nay, once he utter’d words most hateful,
Such as “unworthy,” and “ungrateful,”–
Words which the proud heart cannot bear,
Whatever stings are planted there;–
Words that can sharper pangs impose
Than poverty, with all its woes !
Near, in the garden, legends say,
A PEA-HEN scream’d at dawn of day:
Old Simon heard the hideous strain,
And sigh’d for solitude again.—-
The Squire was fond of sports, and he
Made Simon bear him company:
Drinking was too the Squire’s delight
All day,–and sometimes half the night.
The Squire would smoke:–and Simon ne’er
Tobacco in his life could bear:
Yet he must smoke, though almost choaking,
Because the Squire was fond of smoking.—-
Old Simon now began to find
That pleasure centres in the mind;
That, e’en in plenitude of joys,
A very trifle bliss destroys:
He prov’d that pure Delight is found
To dwell within a narrow bound;
That Peace may smile, and cheerful be,
E’en in the hut of poverty;
While Splendor, Sorrow, Scorn, and Hate,
May thrive in gilded halls of state:
He felt the slav’ry which annoys,
With chains of gold, Ambition’s joys;
That man must ever groan to find
That chain about his active mind ! —-
Thus Simon pin’d once more to be
The son of lab’ring poverty;
And, to regain his wonted pleasure,
Sought Freedom, as Man’s proudest treasure.
(Mary Elizabeth Robinson)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Life Poems, Night Poems, Mind Poems, Sadness Poems, Soul Poems, Nature Poems, War & Peace Poems, Joy & Excitement Poems, Youth Poems, Fairness PoemsBased on Keywords: indulg, enclos, pac, revolv, annoys, half-a-dozen, fenc, unthankful, complies, good-natur, for-a