Chapter XVI

"Such is my story--this my home,--
And I the monarch of the dell--
Above my head, the forest dome,--
Around, the battlements that swell
To heaven, and make my castle strong.
My messengers are winds that lave
Far reedy shores, and bring me song,
Blent with the murmurs of the wave.
And birds of every rainbow hue,
The antelope, and timid deer,
The wild goat mingling with the blue
Of heaven on yonder rock, are here.
And oft at morn, the mocking-bird
Doth greet me with its sweetest lay;
The wood-dove, where the bush is stirred,
Looks from its cover on my way.
I would not break the spider's thread,--
The buzzing insect dances free;
I crush no toad beneath my tread,--
The lizard crawls in liberty!
I harm no living thing; my sway
Of peace hath soothed the grumbling bear,--
The wolf walks by in open day,
And fawns upon me from his lair.
Aye, and my heart hath bowed so low,
I gather in this solitude,
Joy from the love that seems to flow
From these brute tenants of the leafy wood.