even those things which St. Paul says “are not seen and are eternal.”
CXV.
Spring is described, with its sprouting hedges and blowing violets. The whole landscape changes in colour, with the warmer weather;
“And drown’d in yonder living blue
The lark becomes a sightless song.”[81]
Who has not heard the lark, after it has become invisible in the heavens?
The migratory “birds that change their sky”[82] return and build their nests;
“and my regret
Becomes an April violet,
And buds and blossoms like the rest.”
He is cheered by the opening season.
CXVI.
Is it regret for buried time—grief for the friend whom he has lost—which makes him feel so tender and susceptible of the influences of Spring? Not wholly so: for “life re-orient out of dust,” the revival of vegetation, raises his spirits, and “heartens,” strengthens his trust in that Power which made the earth beautiful.