Now that the children are abed
The little glow-worms nothing dread,
Such prize as their bright lamps would be.
Sooth they come in company,
And shine in quietness secure,
On the mossy bank by the cottage door,
As safe as on the loneliest moor.
In the play, or on the hill,
Everything is hushed and still;
The clouds show here and there a spot
Of a star that twinkles not,
The air as in ...
Now that the children's busiest schemes
Do all lie buried in blank sleep,
Or only live in stirring dreams,
The glow-worms fearless watch may keep;
Rich prize as their bright lamps would be,
They shine, a quiet company,
On mossy bank by cottage-door,
As safe as on the loneliest moor.
In hazy straits the clouds between,
And in their stations twinkling not,
Some thinly-sprinkled stars are seen,
Each changed into a pallid spot.
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819.
[return]
[Variant 3:]
| 1836 | |
|
The mountains rise to wond'rous height, And in the heavens there is a weight; | 1819 |
| And in the heavens there hangs a weight; | 1827 |
The mountains rise to wond'rous height,
And in the heavens there is a weight;
And in the heavens there hangs a weight;
In the editions of 1819 to 1832, these two lines follow the line "Like the stifling of disease."
[return]
[Variant 4:]
| 1819 | |
| ... faint ... | 1836 |
... faint ...
The text of 1845 returns to that of 1819.
[return]
[Variant 5:]