Homes and Haunts of the Most Eminent British Poets, Vol. 1 (of 2)Howitt, William
History
Homes and Haunts of the Most Eminent British Poets, Vol. 1 (of 2)
Howitt, William
Literary landmarks -- Great Britain; Poets, English -- Homes and haunts
Let us now suppose the grounds lying in the shape of a Y; the house not
standing at the top, but near the center of the fork, and the lowest
part of the scene, the stem. The lines forming the fork of the Y are
beautifully wooded ravines or dells, down which flow small streamlets,
meeting at the bottom of the hill, and in their progress forming
numerous small pools, which may well represent "the fountains all
bordered with moss." The walks along the sides of these streams are now
neglected, but they still conduct you to the natural beauties of the
scene. There is one spot which commands the view of the whole grounds,
and all the poetry of them. Following the course of one of the streams,
you arrive at that part of the scene which was Shenstone's favorite
spot, still marked by the remnants of several fallen statues. Still
advancing along the brook side, you come to a pool. This may be called
the tail or stem of the Y; and at dusk, on a November day, it gives you
no bad idea of the Lake of the Dismal Swamp in miniature. Indeed, the
feeling on quitting the place is, that you have been well deceived as to
the extent of it, so small a space really containing so much variety of
scenery.
The Leasowes now belongs to the Attwood family, and a Miss Attwood
resides there occasionally; but the whole place bears the impress of
desertion and neglect. The house has a dull look; the same heavy spirit
broods over the lawns and glades; and it is only when you survey it from
a distance, as when approaching Halesowen from Hagley, that the whole
presents an aspect of unusual beauty. It is said to be a favorite resort
of the members of the Society of Friends, as, halting for tea at
Halesowen, on their return from their meetings at Stourbridge to
Birmingham, they are fond of a stroll in the Leasowes, no doubt the
quiet character of the poetry of Shenstone according well with their own
habits.
CHATTERTON.
[Illustration]
"In Severn's vale, a wan and moonstruck boy
Sought by the daisy's side a pensive joy;
Held converse with the sea-birds as they passed,
And strange and dire communion with the blast;
And read in sunbeams, and the starry sky,
The golden language of eternity.
Age saw him, and looked sad; the young men smiled;
And wondering maidens shunned his aspect wild.
But He--the ever kind, the ever wise,
Who sees through fate, with omnipresent eyes,
Hid from the mother, while she blessed her son,
The woes of genius and of Chatterton."--_Ebenezer Elliott._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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