_Gabriel's Hounds._--"At Wednesbury in Staffordshire, the colliers going to their pits early in the morning hear the noise of a pack of hounds in the air, to which they give the name of Gabriel's Hounds, though the more sober and judicious take them only to be wild geese making this noise in their flight." Kennet MS., Lansd. 1033. (See Halliwell's _Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words_, vol. i. p. 388.) The peculiar cry or cackle, both of the Brent Goose and of the Bean or Harvest Goose (_Anser Segetum_), has often been likened to that of a pack of hounds in full cry--especially when the birds are on the wing during night. For some account of the superstition of "Gabriel's Hounds," see _Notes and Queries_, First Series, vol. v. pp. 534 and 596; and vol. xii. p. 470; Second Series, vol. i. p. 80; and Fourth Series, vol. vii. p. 299. In the last note these hounds are said to be popularly believed to be "the souls of unbaptized children wandering in the air till the day of judgment." They are also explained as "a thing in the air, that is said in these parts (Sheffield) to foretell calamity, sounding like a great pack of beagles in full cry." This quotation is from Charles Reade's _Put yourself in his place_, which contains many scraps of local folk-lore. The following is from the _Statistical History of Kirkmichael_, by the Rev. John Grant. "In the autumnal season, when the moon shines from a serene sky, often is the wayfaring traveller arrested by the music of the hills. Often struck with a more sober scene, he beholds the visionary hunters engaged in the chase, and pursuing the deer of the clouds, while the hollow rocks in long sounding echoes reverberate their cries." "There are several now living who assert that they have seen and heard this aërial hunting." See the _Statistical History of Scotland_, edited by Sir J. Sinclair, vol. xii. pp. 461, 462. Compare note to _An Evening Walk_, vol. i. p. 19.--ED. FOOTNOTES: [A] Both these superstitions are prevalent in the midland Counties of England: that of "Gabriel's Hounds" appears to be very general over Europe; being the same as the one upon which the German Poet, Bürger, has founded his Ballad of _The Wild Huntsman_.--W. W. 1807. COMPOSED BY THE SIDE OF GRASMERE LAKE. 1807 Composed 1806.--Published 1819 This sonnet was first published along with _The Waggoner_ in 1819. In 1820 it was classed among the "Miscellaneous Sonnets," and in 1827 it was transferred to the "Sonnets dedicated to Liberty." Previous to 1837 this sonnet had no title.--ED.