THE SHEPHERD SEEKS HIS GLOWING HEARTH.
1
The shepherd seeks his glowing hearth,
The fox calls from the mountain,
The folded flocks are white with rime,
Swans seek the silent fountain;
And midnight starless is and drear,
And Ae's wild waters swelling,
Far up the lonesome greenwood glen,
Where my fair maiden's dwelling.
2
Wild is the night—green July's eve,
Ne'er balmier seem'd or warmer;
For I sing thy name, and muse on thee,
My mild and winsome charmer;
Thy bower sheds far its trysting light
Through the dark air of December—
Thy father's dreaming o'er his wealth,
Thy mother's in her chamber.
3
Now is the time for talk, my love,
Soft sighing, mutual wishing,
Heart-throbbings, interchange of vows,
Words breathed mid holy kissing;
All worldly maxims, wisemen's rules,
My raptured soul disdaineth;
For with my love the world is lost,
And all the world containeth.
