Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
William Collins. 17211759460. Fidele
TO fair Fidele’s grassy tomb | |
Soft maids and village hinds shall bring | |
Each opening sweet of earliest bloom, | |
And rifle all the breathing Spring. | |
No wailing ghost shall dare appear | 5 |
To vex with shrieks this quiet grove; | |
But shepherd lads assemble here, | |
And melting virgins own their love. | |
No wither’d witch shall here be seen, | |
No goblins lead their nightly crew; | 10 |
The female fays shall haunt the green, | |
And dress thy grave with pearly dew. | |
The redbreast oft at evening hours | |
Shall kindly lend his little aid, | |
With hoary moss, and gather’d flowers, | 15 |
To deck the ground where thou art laid. | |
When howling winds, and beating rain, | |
In tempests shake the sylvan cell; | |
Or ‘midst the chase, on every plain, | |
The tender thought on thee shall dwell; | 20 |
Each lonely scene shall thee restore, | |
For thee the tear be duly shed; | |
Beloved, till life can charm no more; | |
And mourn’d till Pity’s self be dead. |