R. Johnson, del. T. Bewick, sculp. THE DEPARTURE. Published January 1, 1795, by William Bulmer, at the Shakspeare Printing Office, Cleveland Row. THE DESERTED VILLAGE. Sweet Auburn! loveliest village of the plain, Where health and plenty cheer'd the labouring swain; Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid, And parting summer's lingering blooms delay'd. Dear lovely bowers of innocence and ease, Seats of my youth, when every sport could please, Where humble happiness endear'd each scene! How often have I paused on every charm, The shelter'd cot, the cultivated farm, The never-failing brook, the busy mill, The decent church, that topp'd the neighbouring hill, The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade, How often have I bless'd the coming day, The bashful virgin's sidelong looks of love, The matron's glance, that would those looks reprove. Thy sports are fled, and all thy charms withdrawn ; One only master grasps the whole domain, And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain. No more thy glassy brook reflects the day, The hollow sounding bittern guards its nest; |