———
Ere from thy calm seclusion parted,
O fairest village of the plain!
The thoughts that here to life have started
Draw me to Nature’s heart again.
The tasseled maize, full grain, or clover,
Far o’er the level meadow grows,
And through it, like a wayward rover,
The noble river gently flows.
Majestic elms, with trunks unshaken