THIS, AND THE TWO FOLLOWING, WERE SUGGESTED BY MR. W. WESTALL’S VIEWS OF THE CAVES, ETC., IN YORKSHIRE
PURE element of waters! wheresoe’er Thou dost forsake thy subterranean haunts, Green herbs, bright flowers, and berry-bearing plants, Rise into life and in thy train appear: And, through the sunny portion of the year, Swift insects shine, thy hovering pursuivants: And, if thy bounty fail, the forest pants; And hart and hind and hunter with his spear, Languish and droop together. Nor unfelt In man’s perturbed soul thy sway benign; 10 And, haply, far within the marble belt Of central earth, where tortured Spirits pine For grace and goodness lost, thy murmurs melt Their anguish,–and they blend sweet songs with thine. 1819.