Suburban Sonnets.
IV.
HAMPSTEAD.
Hampstead! I doubly venerate thy name,
Because ’twas in thy meadows that I grew
Enamour’d of that literary fame
Which youthful poets eagerly pursue,
And first beheld that beauty-beaming form,
Which death too quickly tore from my embrace,
That peerless girl, whose blushes were as warm
As ever glow’d upon a virgin face!
Hence, lovely village! I am still thy debtor,
For pleasures now irrevocably flown—
For that transcendant maid, who, when I met her
Along thy meadows musing, and alone,
Look’d like a spirit from the realms above,
Sent down to prove the sov’reignty of Love!
V.
THE NEW RIVER.
Thou pleasant river! in the summer time
About thy margin I delight to stray,
Perusing Byron’s captivating rhyme,
And drinking inspiration from his lay!
For there is something in thy placid stream
That gives a keener relish to his song,
And makes the spirit of his numbers seem
More fascinating as I move along:—
There is besides upon thy waves a moral,
With which it were ridiculous to quarrel;
For, like the current of our lives, they flow
Thro’ multifarious channels, till they go
Down into darkness, and preserve no more
The “form and feature” they possess’d before!
VI.
MINERVA TERRACE, ISLINGTON.
Ye, who are anxious for a “country seat,”
Pure air, green meadows, and suburban views,
Rooms snug and light, not over large, but neat,
And gardens water’d with refreshing dews,
May find a spot adapted to your taste,
Near Barnsbury-park, or rather Barnsbury-town,
Where ev’ry thing looks elegant and chaste,
And wealth reposes on a bed of down!
I, therefore, strongly recommend to those
Who want a pure and healthy situation,
To choose Minerva Terrace, and repose
’Midst prospects worthy of their admiration;—
How long they’ll last is quite another thing,
Not longer, p’rhaps, than the approaching spring!
Islington, March 25, 1827.
J. G.