And is this--Yarrow?--_This_ the Stream Of which my fancy cherished, So faithfully, a waking dream?[36] An image that hath perished! O that some Minstrel's harp were near, 5 To utter notes[37] of gladness, And chase this silence from the air, That fills my heart with sadness! Yet why?--a silvery current flows With uncontrolled meanderings; 10 Nor have these eyes by greener hills Been soothed, in all my wanderings. And, through her depths,[38] Saint Mary's Lake Is visibly delighted; For not a feature of those hills 15 Is in the mirror slighted. A blue sky bends o'er Yarrow vale, Save where that pearly whiteness Is round the rising sun diffused, A tender hazy brightness; 20 Mild dawn of promise! that excludes All profitless dejection; Though not unwilling here to admit A pensive recollection. Where was it that the famous Flower 25 Of Yarrow Vale lay bleeding? His bed perchance was yon smooth mound On which the herd is feeding: And haply from this crystal pool, Now peaceful as the morning, 30 The Water-wraith ascended thrice-- And gave his doleful warning. Delicious is the Lay that sings The haunts of happy Lovers, The path that leads them to the grove, 35 The leafy grove that covers: And Pity sanctifies the Verse That paints, by strength of sorrow, The unconquerable strength of love; Bear witness, rueful Yarrow! 40 But thou, that didst appear so fair To fond imagination, Dost rival in the light of day Her delicate creation: Meek loveliness is round thee spread, 45 A softness still and holy; The grace of forest charms decayed, And pastoral melancholy. That region left, the vale unfolds Rich groves of lofty stature, 50 With Yarrow winding through the pomp Of cultivated nature; And, rising from those lofty groves, Behold a Ruin hoary! The shattered front of Newark's Towers, 55 Renowned in Border story.[Q]