When on it joyously the moonbeams play;

And thou hast gaiety softened by devotion,

Aye, and good nature, which, upon inspection,

I always found developed in extreme perfection.

I would not flatter thee—much less, would know

The pungent strength of critical acidity

For talking prettily of ‘twilight glow,’

And ‘moons,’ and ‘sighs’—all types of insipidity.

And yet I say not that the earth can show

Ought more enchanting than the deep placidity