St. Maurice

Still by the Leman Lake, for many a mile,
Among those venerable trees I went,
Where damsels sit and weave their fishing-nets,
Singing some national song by the way-side.
But now the fly was gone, the gnat careering;
Now glimmering lights from cottage-windows broke.
'Twas dusk; and, journeying upward by the Rhone,
That there came down, a torrent from the Alps,
I entered where a key unlocks a kingdom;
The mountains closing, and the road, the river
Filling the narrow pass. There, till a ray
Glanced thro' my lattice, and the household-stir
Warned me to rise, to rise and to depart,
A stir unusual and accompanied
With many a tuning of rude instruments,
And many a laugh that argued coming pleasure,
Mine host's fair daughter for the nuptial rite,
And nuptial, feast attiring — there I slept,
And in my dreams wandered once more, well-pleased.
But now a charm was on the rocks, and woods,
And waters; for, methought, I was with those
I had at morn and even wished for there.