I strove to soothe with melancholy lay,
And bore her, sobbing, to the casement near,
And bade her infant accents call her father dear.
Upon the dreary prospect forth I gazed;
Poured from the lowering sky incessant rain,
The trees their dark and dripping branches raised,
Reflected dimly on the flooded plain,
Trickled the raindrops down the misty pane;
The wind in sudden gusts our dwelling shook,
Then sank, in mournful murmurs to complain;