Page:Lapsus Calami 4th Ed.djvu/34

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

20

IV. Of W. W. (Britannicus).

poetic lamentation on the insufficiency of
steam locomotion in the lake district.

Bright Summer spreads his various hue
O'er nestling vales and mountains steep,
Glad birds are singing in the blue,
In joyous chorus bleat the sheep.
But men are walking to and fro,
Are riding, driving far and near,
And nobody as yet can go
By train to Buttermere.

The sunny lake, the mountain track,
The leafy groves are little gain,
While Rydal's pleasant pathways lack
The rattle of the passing train.
But oh ! what poet would not sing
That heaven-kissing rocky cone,
On whose steep side the railway king
Shall set his smoky throne?

Helvellyn in those happy days
With tunnelled base and grimy peak
Will mark the lamp's approaching rays,
Will hear the whistle's warning shriek:
Will note the coming of the mails,
And watch with unremitting stare
The dusky grove of iron rails
Which leads to Euston-square.