SPENCER-WOOD.
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Through
thy green groves, and deep receding bowers,
Loved SPENCER-WOOD! how
often have I strayed,
Or mused away, the calm, unbroken hours,
Beneath some broad oak’s
cool, refreshing shade.
There, not a sound disturbed the tranquil scene,
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Save
welcome hummings of the roving bee,
That quickly flitted o’er the tufted green,
Or where the squirrel played
from tree to tree.
And I have paused beside that dimpling stream,
Which slowly winds thy beauteous
groves among,
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Till
from its breast retired the sun’s last beam,
And every bird had ceased
its vesper song.
The blushing arbours of those classic days,
Through which the breathings
of the slender reed, [Page 157]
First softly echoed with Arcadia’s praise,
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Might
well be pictured in this sheltered mead.
And blest were those who found a happy home
In thy loved shades, without
one throb of care—
No murmurs heard, save from the distant foam,
That rolled in columns o’er
the great Chaudiere.*
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And I have watched the moon in grandeur rise,
Above the tinted maple’s
leaffy breast,
And take her brilliant path-way through the skies,
Till half the world seemed
lulled in peaceful rest. [Page 158]
Oh! these were hours, whose soft enchanting spell
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Came
o’er the heart, in thy grove’s deep
recess—
Where e’en poor Shenstone might have loved
to dwell,
Enjoying the pure calm of
happiness!
But soon, how soon, a different scene I trace,
Where I have wandered, or
oft musing stood:—
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And
those whose cheering looks enhanced the place
No more shall smile on thee,
lone SPENCER-WOOD!*
[Page 159]
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*
The falls of the Chaudiere are about nine
miles from Quebec, on the south shore of the St.
Lawrence, and for beauty, and romantic scenery,
perhaps not surpassed in all America. They are not
so magnificent as Niagara, but certainly
far more picturesque. The Cohos, on the
Mohawk river—the Catskill—the
Genesees, which flow into Lake Ontario,
and many other falls that I visited, through the
United States, are no more than the overflowings
of a glass of soda-water, when put in comparison
with the enchanting grandeur of the Chaudiere.
[back]
* This is one of the most beautiful
spots in Lower Canada, and the property of the late
HON. MICHAEL HENRY PERCEVAL, who resided there with
his accomplished family; whose polished, and highly
educated minds, rendered my visits to SPENCER-WOOD,
doubly interesting.—It is handsomely situated
on the lofty banks of the St. Lawrence, a little
more than two miles from Quebec. The grounds, and
gravel walks are tastefully laid out, interspersed
with a great variety of trees, planted by the hand
of nature. The scenery is altogether magnificent,
and particularly towards the east, where the great
precipices overhang WOLFE’S COVE. This latter
place has derived its name from that hero, who,
with his British troops, nobly ascended its frowning
cliffs, on the night of the 11th of September, 1759,
and took possession of the plains of Abraham. [back] |
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