 | Lyrics of the Under World |  |
101
MY DELIGHT.
[_]
About two miles, as the crow flies, south from Meridian, in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, stands Mt. Barton, probably the highest hill in East Mississippi. One can get a splendid view of the surrounding country from this hill; and, in the early morning or late afternoon, the beauty of the landscape viewed from its summit is pleasing.
I frequently visit Mt. Barton, which I call the Heights of Lauderdale. I can see and contemplate Meridian better from this point, and the sweet sensations which come when the winds play among the pines, and the absence of the din and noise of the city, make it a happy resort for a weary mind.
I can but feel a swell of soul,
Over my vision's broader scope,
When from the city's mart I stroll
And climb along the northern slope,
Of the Heights of Lauderdale.
Over my vision's broader scope,
When from the city's mart I stroll
And climb along the northern slope,
Of the Heights of Lauderdale.
Hard by, a heath of Lauderdale,
A verdant sweep of broken lea,
Rolls into knolls from out the vale,
And undulates and swells a sea
Of billowy emerald waves.
A verdant sweep of broken lea,
Rolls into knolls from out the vale,
And undulates and swells a sea
Of billowy emerald waves.
102
Far off on that sea there lies,
North of the Heights of Lauderdale,
Meridian, 'neath a haze of skies,
And seems, upon that distant vale,
Fleet like, anchored on the deep.
North of the Heights of Lauderdale,
Meridian, 'neath a haze of skies,
And seems, upon that distant vale,
Fleet like, anchored on the deep.
How often have I lingered there,
To have my simple thought dome teem,
With fancy's fictions of the fair,
And catch a glimpse of beauty beam,
Scintillate and dazzle there.
To have my simple thought dome teem,
With fancy's fictions of the fair,
And catch a glimpse of beauty beam,
Scintillate and dazzle there.
And when beneath some lofty pine,
I muse on Nature's loveliness,
As oft it seems something divine,
Places a rare peculiar stress,
Of melody in the pines.
I muse on Nature's loveliness,
As oft it seems something divine,
Places a rare peculiar stress,
Of melody in the pines.
Among the pines of Lauderdale,
A whispered cadence sighs along,
And when the winds become a gale,
The verdant hills burst into song
And sweetly soughs ravien.
A whispered cadence sighs along,
And when the winds become a gale,
The verdant hills burst into song
And sweetly soughs ravien.
And far away down the cultured vale,
Echoing goes the evening hymn,
Of some rude swain of Lauderdale;
Soothing and sweet, the lay of him
Chimes with the metre wild.
Echoing goes the evening hymn,
Of some rude swain of Lauderdale;
Soothing and sweet, the lay of him
Chimes with the metre wild.
103
The metre wild, the metre wild,
How many an eve I loiter where,
By its sweet melody beguiled,
I muse on nature's charms and share
Her metrical symposium.
How many an eve I loiter where,
By its sweet melody beguiled,
I muse on nature's charms and share
Her metrical symposium.
Sublime the scene when twilight flies,
Up through the green tines of the pines,
As, on the deep vermillion skies,
Day, weary and worn, declines,
Beaming last on Lauderdale.
Up through the green tines of the pines,
As, on the deep vermillion skies,
Day, weary and worn, declines,
Beaming last on Lauderdale.
There, looking on him spent, supine,
How oft have I been filled with awe,
To see his gold on emerald shine,
And crimson fingered evening draw
The starry curtains of the night.
How oft have I been filled with awe,
To see his gold on emerald shine,
And crimson fingered evening draw
The starry curtains of the night.
Again to hear the wild anthem,
The intonations of the pines,
And all the mystic airs of them
A-soughing through the vast confines
Of Lauderdale is my delight.
The intonations of the pines,
And all the mystic airs of them
A-soughing through the vast confines
Of Lauderdale is my delight.
| Lyrics of the Under World | |