Gentle bard, were I to tell
Half thy tricks—thou knowest well,
Soon the dainty bard might be
Swinging from the gallows tree!
THE THRUSH AND THE NIGHTINGALE OFFICIATE AS PRIESTS.
This poem contains many beautiful and fanciful allusions to the ceremonies of the Roman Catholic church. I have translated it into prose, and almost literally, as the best means of conveying the spirit of the original.
In a place of ecstasy I was to-day,
Under the mantles of the splendid green hazels,
Where I listened, at the dawn of day,
To the song of the thrush, an adept in music,
From a distant country, without delay or weariness.
On a long journey my mottled love-messenger had come,
He had travelled here from the narrow county of Chester
At the request of my golden sister, (i. e. Morvyth);
A noble bell[1] (to those who love bells) was rung,
- ↑ In this line the bells are supposed to ring for service; the bard then describes the “cassock” of the thrush, whom he imagines to officiate as priest, and the other accompaniments of Roman Catholic worship.
