Page:Home; or, The unlost paradise (IA homeorunlostpara00palm).pdf/26

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

But one of thousands that New England boasts—
The jewels of her crown—her pride and joy.
Nor rude, nor splendid, it hath yet a charm,
A quiet loveliness. Come, ye who dream
That Peace, an exile, dwells with men no more;
Ye who in vain pursue her through the maze
Where witching pleasure lures, and oft deceived
As oft the eager chase again renew;
Ye who would seek her but in princely halls,
With fretted ceiling arched and draperies hung
In gorgeous richness, where luxurious couch
And orient ottoman invite repose,
With harp, or lute, by snowy fingers touched,
That soothes and lulls in soft voluptuous strain—
Come hither, mark, and muse and grow more wise.

  Lo, where the hand of taste hath graced the scene!
The charms of nature by judicious skill
Are heightened here; their absence there supplied
By quaint device. The grassy plat that spreads
In neat simplicity before the door,